


For Six Moons

by incaseyoufic



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Human Toothless, M/M, magical transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-11
Updated: 2014-08-11
Packaged: 2018-02-12 17:55:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 32,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2119296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incaseyoufic/pseuds/incaseyoufic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unexplained visit of a sorceress to Berk temporarily changes Toothless from a dragon to Hiccup's new human companion. Hiccup and Toothless appreciate this rare opportunity to strengthen all aspects of their bond. human!TOOTHCUP with eventual lemon (I repeat, Toothless is HUMAN, not a dragon).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> Any events that take place during the Christmas Special "Gift of the Night Fury", HTTYD2 or any of the episodes from the two seasons of the cartoon series, do not have any influence over this story. 
> 
> I do not own any characters from Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon.

The small island of Berk had for the afternoon, been host to a traveling sorceress. The eldest of elders could recall only once in their memory a similar situation. And of course back then, everything in the island had been very different. Upon arrival the sorceress had at first been surprised at the novel symbiotic relationship between humans and dragons. The sorceress had been amused, thinking out loud that the dragons were now enslaved to be human playthings. Needless to say, the stronger bonded human-dragon teams had been quick to defend their mutualist relationships.

Once it had been clear that the sorceress had not visited Berk just to poke fun or cause any damage to their little island (amazingly, it had been an entire year without any of the houses needing replacement), she announced quite expressively that there was to be a contest, and to the victor she would grant one wish. Competitors were excluded to dragon-human teams only. None of the eligible older Vikings participated (they were wary of this random sorceress), and reprimanded their offspring, who of course all chose to participate.

"The team with the strongest bond has the greatest chance of winning!" announced the sorceress with flourish.

"We'll obviously win," said Astrid to her dragon, turning steel eyes to Hiccup and Toothless. She reached up to pet her nadder's cheek. "It's okay girl, we'll squash 'em flat,"

Toothless shot a small growl at the Nadder, who shifted restlessly. Hiccup gave a nervous laugh. "Hey if you win-"

"You mean when I win, yeah,"

"Sure, uh – what are you going to wish for?"

Fishlegs burst into the scene, his gronckle in tow. "No Astrid, don't answer! You can't tell a wish! If you do it won't come true!"

The twins rolled their eyes. "What a buncha sissies. I'm gonna win for sure," proclaimed Ruffnut, smirking and sticking out her chest.

Tuffnut scoffed. "You mean we're gonna win. We're on the same dragon, yah idiot."

"If anyone's gonna win, it's gonna be me!" Snotlout yelled, drowning them all out.

"I've been training with my gronckle, I totally have plus ten speed now-" Fishlegs cut himself off under the glares of his teammates.

All of the contestants were determined to win to get their wish and curious as to what the contest would consist of. Mostly though, they were curious about who the hell the sorceress was, where the hell she was from, and why the hell she had nothing better to do than get her kicks by playing with the small population of Berk.

For the benefit of the worried parents (who, in Hiccup's opinion, weren't nearly worried as they should have been… but then, they had volunteered for this. Well, Hiccup had been volun-told by Toothless. So if they didn't win the bastard wasn't getting any Icelandic cod for a month. Okay, maybe a week), the make-shift arena was set up in an empty field just east of the village. There was nothing special about the location, no obvious set up for anything contestable, and in mutual doubt the six teams wondered if the sorceress simple enjoyed wasting time.

"Gather round, young contestants!" the sorceress exclaimed with a barking laugh. "Oh look at you all, so determined to win! To get one wish!" She scanned the teams, her eyes lingering for a second longer on the dragons than on the humans. "Step closer, come on!"

The young Vikings all looked at each other, getting every minute more suspicious of the witch's intentions. But nobody wanted to be rude and –

"Hey what's the deal! I thought this was supposed to be a contest!" cried Snotlout. He yelped and stepped back behind Fishlegs when the sorceress stared at him.

She hiccupped out a laugh. "Yes, and you've all done admirably! But my dears, it really was no contest as soon as I saw all of you with your dragons here."

Silence from the parents, and in the arena. Incoherent grumbling mixed in with explosive sighs followed, as the parents were surely realizing that yes, this Sorceress was indeed bored and had come only to stir up some drama among their teenaged offspring. Well, they could all admit, that, without periodical dragon attacks, life on the Isle of Berk had been getting slightly boring as of late. Still, they all would have preferred well-deserved boredom than the inevitable incessant whining and headaches of the losers of this predicament.

The witch laughed wickedly. "I did say that the strongest team would win! And I do believe we have a winner!" She raised both arms towards Hiccup and Toothless in a welcoming gesture.

Astrid scoffed and gave a cry of frustration. "Why is it always you! Why do you have to steal every victory from me! Damnit!" In anger she picked up a large nearby boulder and threw it over the edge the island. Hiccup flinched and moved away, fearing for his safety. She hopped on her dragon and rode away in a huff, ever the sore loser.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut were pulling at each other's hair, yelling up a storm. "It's your fault! You made our bond imbalanced! This thing only has two heads, not two bodies! Raaagh, die!" Hiccup couldn't even tell who was talking. The zippleback's two pairs of eyes darted back and forth between the twins, then rolled. The dragon flew back to the main hub.

Snotlout gaped at Hiccup, and then at the Sorceress. "What! But that's not fair! They've been together longer! And – who do you think you are anyways!"

Hiccup drowned them all out and walked up to the Sorceress. "Come on, buddy," he said, leading Toothless. The dragon practically bounced on its feet, light with an easy victory and the promise of bragging rights over all the other dragons.

Hiccup stood two feet away from the Sorceress, who didn't seem nearly as tall up close. In her thick brown furs and wild brown hair, Hiccup thought she looked a bit – well, ridiculous. But then he remembered to be polite because he was about to be granted a wish from a (powerful?) sorceress.

"Sorry about them," he said, nodding back to the mess of his friends.

The sorceress bubbled with laughter. "That is quite alright dear! It is to be expected. This is all rather fun!"

Hiccup bit his lip and scratched his ear. "Er, I haven't thought of a wish yet…"

The sorceress appeared surprised. "Oh! But, you didn't think I was granting you a wish, did you? When I promised one wish to the victor, of course I meant your dragon here!"

That calmed the pile of chaotic Vikings behind him. Tuffnut barked out laughter and yelled "Yes! Righteousness!" Followed by "Oh man, look at his face!" from Snotlout.

Hiccup swallowed his surprise. He smiled at Toothless and clapped him on the shoulder. "There ya go, buddy! What are you going to wish for?" For a second Hiccup worried that Toothless wouldn't understand what was going on, but then his big green eyes lit up as if in revelation. The dragon took a step forward and nudged the Sorceress.

She laughed again and placed the palm of her hand on the night fury's forehead. "Oh, I see! Interesting! Well if that is truly what you want, my dear..."

Toothless nodded his head vigorously. Hiccup raised his eyebrows, curiousity positively eating him alive. What would a dragon wish for? All the fish in the ocean?

With a sinking feeling, Hiccup then realized what Toothless's wish would be. A healed tail. Hiccup felt sweaty, his heart suddenly beating in his throat, choking him. What if, with a healed tail, Toothless left? He wouldn't need Hiccup to fly anymore, Hiccup would lose his best friend, maybe for eternity, he would never make any more friends ever (because right now no one else counted) no no noo –

"Your wish is my command," the sorceress said. She placed both hands on the dragon's head and whispered a few words.

"No!" Hiccup gasped, fear stealing his voice. Hiccup gasped again and flew his arms up to cover his eyes from being blinded.

The entire field, and all the nearby spectators, were bathed in a flash of bright green light (the same shade as Toothless's eyes, in fact). The illumination lasted for four seconds, and then dissipated.

When the crowd's cries of surprise finally became too much to bear without satisfying his curiousity, Hiccup lowered his arms and blinked his eyes open.

Standing in front of him was a boy, exactly his height, with unmistakable bright green eyes. To this day Hiccup was impressed that he hadn't blurted out "Where's Toothless?" The whole population of Berk ran down from their respective spots to gaze and blink in wonder, some having no trouble immediately believing that a dragon had just transformed into a human boy.

"T… Toothless?" whispered Hiccup in a daze. He blinked again. It was impossible – was this possible? He glanced back up at the Sorceress, bug-eyed and mouth hanging open in shock.

The boy beamed at him, smiling with a full set of white teeth. "Hiccup," he said. Or at least tried to; his voice was gravelly and the rough word had been lost. He frowned and cleared his throat. "Hiccup!" he repeated in a clear, determined voice. Everyone around him gasped. His smile grew wider.

"He will remain like this for six moons," the Sorceress announced. "On the seventh morning he will return to his original form. Until then, have fun!" And with a puff of smoke, the weirdest guest in Berk's history had disappeared, leaving behind her a gaping crowd of amazed and puzzled Vikings, and one less dragon than there had been before.

Hiccup drowned out everything around him. He drowned out Fishlegs analyzing human Toothless ("I wonder how dragon stats transfer to human!"), the verbal mocking of the twins ("He's prettier than you!"), and the disappointed cries of Snotlout ("It's not fair!"). Astrid was missing all the excitement, probably somewhere sulking up a storm.

Instead, Hiccup just stared at Toothless. As a human he had windswept thick black hair, pushed back from his forehead as if he were in flight, the same bright green eyes with slightly slit pupils, and an oval face. His proportions were exactly the same as Hiccup's and – Hiccup gasped – his left leg was in the same condition as Hiccup's. Which only made sense, he thought. The absent left tail appendage had transferred to an absent left foot, replaced by a simple wooden prosthetic (Hiccup would have to make him a metal, spring-loaded replacement). The sorceress had dressed Toothless in typical Viking style clothing: a thick black fur vest that draped over his shoulders, a dark gray wool shirt tucked into a leather belt around the waist, thick wool pants and black fur boots. Hiccup was rather impressed.

And then, without any warning whatsoever, not even a change in facial expression, Toothless had snatched Hiccup into a bone-crushing hug. Toothless barked out a laugh and lifted Hiccup into the air.

"Ah, argh, Toothless!" Hiccup said, laughing and squirming. "Put me down! Argh, you're going to crack a rib! Geez, I think you still have your dragon strength!" he gasped, half choking for breath and struggling to escape.

Toothless lowered Hiccup to the ground and, holding his face, kissed him right on the lips.

Hiccup turned bright red and shoved Toothless away from him, spluttering.

"Eeeeeww!" Ruffnut.

"Oh my God! Astrid should have stayed! That was GREAT!" Tuffnut, with bonus fake retching noises added.

"He kissed him! THEY KISSED! ODIN that's gross!" Snotlout.

Stoick and Gobber exchanged worried glances, neither of them really sure if any of this was even real or not.

Toothless released Hiccup and frowned, stepping back.

"Toothless! You – you can't do that!"

Toothless cocked his head sideways, frown deepening. "Why not? I've seen the human female do it to you before. It makes you happy," he said. "And you always turn red when you like it, and you're red right now!"

Hiccup, if it was possible, became even redder. "Y-yeah but, Astrid's a girl! You're – you're not! You weren't even human a second ago! So you can't kiss me, got it?" Hiccup sighed explosively and turned to his 'friends'. "Will you guys shut up!"

The twins put their hands up. "Woah, calm down lover boy!" they said simultaneously.

"Yeah, we all knew you love dragons, but this is too much!" Snotlout said, laughing and pointing.

Fishlegs just appeared extremely uncomfortable with all of it and didn't seem to know where to look.

Toothless took a shaky step backward from Hiccup, eyebrows furrowed. His pupils tightened and, with pursed lips, he turned and ran (awkwardly) away from everyone. The reaction was completely predictable and familiar to Hiccup, and therefore only increased the surrealism of it all. Had Toothless really turned into a human?

Had Toothless really just kissed him?!

Or maybe they were all caught in some tricky illusory fantasy set upon them by the visiting sorceress?

Hiccup shook his head fiercely. No, because then that truth would mean Hiccup fantasized about Toothless kissing him. And, up until five minutes ago, Toothless had existed as a dragon. And that was just… No.

And Hiccup knew that Toothless would be stuck in a miserable, stubborn sulk until Hiccup went to him. Sighing and ignoring everyone around him (much easier lately, for some reason), Hiccup ran after Toothless (as best he could with his leg). The comforting part of it all was that Toothless was now grounded and couldn't escape off of the isle. Unless he wanted to die of hypothermia.

At first Hiccup was unsuccessful in his search. Frustrated, he stopped. It was like trying to find a lost downed dragon again – Hiccup cried out in irritation, not believing his own stupidity. For the last few minutes he'd been trying to find a night fury, in his haste completely forgetting the novelty of the whole situation. Look for a morose teenage boy, you idiot, not a mopey night fury! And then with another epiphany Hiccup knew without a doubt where Toothless had run off to.

Hiccup made his way slowly to the cove (their cove), ignoring the increasing sense of déjà vu. If Toothless's human body was strong enough almost to crack Hiccup's rib (ignoring the fact that Hiccup is puny), then possibly Toothless's human body could also blast him with energy. Caution was always better than death (not that he'd ever really followed that advice before).

Hiccup thought it would be taking it too far to offer Toothless half a predigested raw fish. Hiccup would respect the fact that human bodies couldn't easily handle that kind of food.

Toothless was sitting by the tree, sulking.

Hiccup sighed quietly and approached him. It was no different than the countless times before when Hiccup had to comfort his temperamental dragon. Dragons really were sensitive, he'd quickly discovered.

"This is so weird," Hiccup said as he sat down beside Toothless. "I mean, look at you!"

Toothless glanced at Hiccup, grunted and turned towards the water.

Hiccup moved closer to him. "Look, Toothless, you – you can't. Hm," Hiccup didn't quite know how to explain to his former dragon that boys kissing boys wasn't really…

...but since when had Hiccup ever been normal?

"I was just showing my affection," Toothless snapped in a gruff voice. Quieter, he grumbled, "Isn't that why humans kiss?"

Hiccup felt his face flush. "Er, well, yeah for affection, but we also – when it's on the lips it's also to show that you want to, to um-" Hiccup's voice died in his throat. Toothless's piercing green eyes bore into his, open and confused. Hiccup's shoulders slumped forward. "To mate," he finished awkwardly, his voice cracking on the last word.

Toothless's eyes widened and then immediately narrowed. Hiccup didn't comment on his red stained cheeks. "I don't like that blonde female. She hits you too much."

Hiccup snorted. "Yeah, she can be pretty pushy." After a moment, Hiccup added, "Don't… don't dragons have anything like that? Kissing? I mean, you've licked me before, I would assume that's the reptilian equivalent..."

Toothless shrugged. "Night furies don't really court each other," he paused. "Well, I guess it involves dancing in the air with your shadows at midnight under the full moon. It's…" Toothless went thoughtfully silent.

The ritual sounded beautiful and Hiccup very much wanted to see it. "So you've never…"

"No. Not yet."

Hiccup watched Toothless's eyes dart after a fish underneath the water. He followed the movement of Toothless's tongue as it darted to wet his lips.

Hiccup cleared his throat. "Humans shouldn't really eat raw fish, you know. You need to cook it."

Toothless turned green eyes to Hiccup. "But then why did you eat my fish?"

Hiccup shrugged. Because you would have killed me if I hadn't? "Couldn't really say no, could I?"

"And did you get sick?"

Hiccup frowned. Now that he thought about it… "Actually, no."

Toothless looked very proud of himself. "My saliva prevents sickness."

"Oh," Hiccup said a bit awkwardly. "Thanks."

Another minute of silence passed. The sun was setting, turning the small pool of water into a watercolour painting of reds and yellows.

"So – so anyways, that's why you can't kiss me," Hiccup said, continuing their earlier conversation. "Because only girls can mate with boys. I mean, I can't produce offspring, and neither can you." Hiccup was dying. This was the most awkward conversation he had ever had, and would ever have, with anyone or anything. Actually no, that was a lie – having this conversation with Stoick would be at least twice as awkward. Definitely fatal.

"Wrong," Toothless said, shaking his head.

Hiccup frowned. "What? What do you mean wrong?"

"Male dragons can produce eggs when there aren't enough females to sustain the population," Toothless explained.

"Er, really? Okay, but, male humans can't – we can't give birth. We can't. Doesn't matter if there are no females around, it just doesn't work like that."

"Seems awfully inconvenient."

"Eh, Berk survives alright," Hiccup said with a shrug.

"So you want to mate with that female then-"

"Astrid? Oh, er, I don't know, maybe? Someday?" Hiccup was red in the face again.

"I don't like her," Toothless mumbled again, frowning.

Hiccup sat up and stretched his back. "Yes, you've made that very clear from the day you and her met. Come on, let's go get dinner." He lowered a hand to help Toothless up, whose eyes were fixed hungrily on the fish in the pond. "Leave the fish. Come on," Hiccup pressed.

The mess hall was filled with people. Hungry, and curious people. All eyes were on Hiccup and Toothless when they walked in. Toothless's eyes darted around, just as curious – dragons weren't allowed in where the humans ate*.

"Hm, it's smaller than I'd imagined," Toothless mumbled into Hiccup's ear. Hiccup flinched at the close sound.

Astrid exploded from the crowd, stopping abruptly in front of them. Her wide eyes took in all of Toothless and she whistled. "I didn't believe them, but it's true!"

"What - er, what else did you hear?" Hiccup asked warily, glancing around Astrid to the rest of the young Vikings, who were all sniggering behind their hands.

Astrid crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Toothless. "That I've got some competition."

Hiccup blushed and observed the staring contest between Toothless and Astrid.

"To quote the sorceress," Toothless said, "it's not even a contest."

Astrid pursed her lips and stalked back to the eating table.

Hiccup face-palmed. "Toothless! Stop destroying my chances!"

Toothless smirked after the blonde. "If she can't take a joke, then it's really not a contest."

"You know her! She takes competition too seriously! And you – I told you I can't make – Ugh, we'll talk about this later," Hiccup growled and stalked after Astrid. Toothless followed, chuckling deeply to himself.

Dinner that night in Berk was a unique affair, to say the least. It was a nod to old times when no attention was paid to Hiccup. Toothless was in the spotlight as nearly every Viking from Berk peppered him with questions about everything from being a dragon, to tolerating spending so much time with Hiccup, to his novel human experience. The questions didn't deter even if Toothless ignored most of them to eat (Hiccup had to keep reminding Toothless he needed to chew his food, rather than swallow it whole). Some people were still mystified over the magical visitor, and if she would return again to grant another wish.

"I wish my gronckle was human! It'd be so cool to talk to him!" said Fishlegs, staring wistfully into space.

Ruffnut leaned in close to Toothless. "I like your hair. It's so… black," she whispered in a low, husky voice, tugging on a clump of his black hair.

Toothless flinched violently and growled at Ruffnut, baring his teeth.

Everyone in the immediate vicinity jumped, ready for action, conditioned for combat with a dragon. Toothless's growl had sounded exactly like it did in his normal form; low and rumbling from his chest.

Ruffnut let go of his hair, but was undeterred by Toothless's growl. "How 'bout a kiss?" She pursed her lips at Toothless, who growled even louder and snapped his teeth at the air in front of her nose.

"Uh, okay, Toothless, Ruffnut - stop it," Hiccup warned. He placed a palm on Toothless's left shoulder and the growling stopped instantly. Like a switch, Toothless reverted to his regular self. Hiccup had always had the power to instantly calm Toothless as a dragon, but when Toothless was a human, and Hiccup could read so easily every emotion on his face, it was a bit unnerving.

"Hah hah, you got rejected by a dragon-boy," Tuffnut taunted in a singsong voice, tugging on one of his sister's braids. She punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor.

Toothless rose from the bench. "I'm not hungry anymore," he announced. He grabbed two cooked fish and stalked out of the hall as best he could with a gimp leg.

Hiccup raised his eyebrow.

"Geez, why did he want to change into a human if he's so unhappy?" Snotlout grumbled. "He's more fun as a dragon."

"Ah, he's always like this," Hiccup shrugged. "It's just harder for you guys to see it." Hiccup got up from the bench and followed Toothless out of the hall.

Hiccup caught up to Toothless just outside the big double doors, able to move faster because of the better prosthetic.

He smiled at Toothless and grabbed his hand. "Come on, I'll make you a better one. Otherwise it'll be hard to walk around all week."

Toothless smiled. "Can I watch?"

"Definitely," Hiccup said, smiling. Together they entered Gobber's workshop. Gobber was still drinking in the mess hall.

It took all night, the process punctuated by many questions from Toothless. Throughout the whole process Toothless tried to help, and Hiccup tried his best to accommodate an energetic and inquisitive Toothless, but –

"Hey, if we want to get this done by morning, you're just gonna have to sit tight, okay Toothless? Just… just relax. Over there."

Toothless glanced with a barely disguised pout to where Hiccup was pointing. With a huff he sat down on the large basket. "I always wondered how you made all those things you use to ride me with," Toothless said, his eyes following every movement Hiccup made. He truly was a master at his craft.

Hiccup blamed the fire for the sudden heat on his cheeks. "Yeah, it's pretty much the one thing I'm good at around here. Making contraptions," he said.

The replacement foot was finished just as dawn was creeping up on Berk. The design was similar to the original model Gobber had fashioned for Hiccup, with a few changes. The base of the foot was wider and longer to provide more support and balance. Hiccup's improved model also made the prosthetic easier to attach and detach, and clean. Hiccup knelt down at Toothless's feet, cradling the replacement limb. With a snort of laughter, Toothless moved his leg from side to side, keeping it just out of a reach of Hiccup every time he got near.

"Oh come on, don't do this again," Hiccup said, laughing at the surfacing memories.

"Where's my basket of fish this time?" asked Toothless in a laugh.

"Come on, I'm tired. Just let me put it on," said Hiccup. "It'll be a lot better, I promise."

Toothless caught his eyes. "I trust you," he said, his tone serious.

Hiccup held his gaze for a moment before tearing himself away. "Right. Uh, here we go."

He made quick work of the replacement. Hiccup offered Toothless a hand up, and could immediately tell from his posture that his replacement was much better than the limb provided by the sorceress. Possibly this one was even better than his own replacement foot.

Hiccup was torn away from analyzing the results of his craftsmanship by the sensation of Toothless's lips on his. Hiccup broke away, face in flames, lips tight, eyes wide open.

"Don't – don't do that! I thought I made it clear that human males can't mate!"

Toothless grinned and shrugged. "You said humans also kiss out of affection. That was my reward to you for this," Toothless said, gesturing towards his left foot. Eyes light with mischief, Toothless jumped on Hiccup and hugged him fiercely. "Is this better?"

Despite himself, Hiccup laughed. "Yeah, sure, just – why are you so touchy feely?"

Toothless nuzzled his face into Hiccup's neck. "I thought you were smart. I can't be like this with you as a dragon, I would accidently kill you either with my weight or my claws," he murmured, his voice ending in a somewhat sad cadence. "And I… I've never felt like this before. This form brings with it a lot of," he paused, searching for the right descriptive, "… urges."

Hiccup wondered if his face might burst into flames, and awkwardly brought his arms up Toothless to return the hug.

Gobber chose that moment to crash into the workshop, his eyes blurred with drink.

Hiccup sprang away from Toothless as if the other boy had poked him with hot iron. Toothless frowned at Hiccup, either not seeing or not caring about Gobber's entrance.

"Going to bed, night then," Gobber growled out.

"Gobber, it's already morning!" Hiccup said.

Gobber stopped and looked outside, his face scrunched up in confusion at the orangey-blue sky. "Is it? Now when did that happen?" He scratched his chest and shrugged. He paused and took in the sight of the workshop. "What've you two been up to, eh? Makin' a mess o' my shop?"

Hiccup tugged Toothless forward and gestured down to his leg. "I made him a replacement so it's not as much a pain for him to walk around."

Gobber nodded and looked down at this own Hiccup-ified replacement leg. "Right by that you were, too," He looked at Toothless and shook his head, eyes wide. "Sorcery. Huh! Can't say I'm not impressed by it. Weird, but impressive," he mumbled as he walked to his room. "Night!"

Hiccup shook his head and snorted. "Geez."


	2. Day 2

Toothless and Hiccup made quick work of cleaning up the shop. By the time they were finished, the sun had fully risen. The temperature was a balmy five degrees Celsius, and the skies were clear for the first time in days.

It was a perfect day for flying.

Hiccup glanced at Toothless, and suddenly things were a bit awkward. Toothless was staring up at the sky, trying to conceal from Hiccup how badly he wished he had his wings back.

Maybe later today, Hiccup would ask Toothless the reason behind his bizarre wish (at dinner the night before, Toothless had given very cryptic answers to the barrage of questions, and Hiccup had yet to be satisfied in his curiousity). But right now… "Some of the other Vikings are going fishing - do you want to go too?"

"Fish… for the dragons?"

Hiccup shrugged. "For us too."

Us. Toothless smiled and nodded. "Sure!"

Perhaps a bit naively, Toothless hadn't factored in a boat when Hiccup had mentioned they were going fishing. He'd assumed they'd just be staying near the shore, or… well, he hadn't really known how exactly humans went about collecting fish from the ocean. All Toothless knew was to fly above the water, skimming just near the surface, until he saw a fish (or a small whale if he was feeling particularly hungry), dipping below and snatching it up with his teeth or hands. But for humans fishing was a much more complicated process, involving what seemed like far too many people, large quantities of rope, a large boat and sharp pointy things.

Toothless went along with it until they were about to board the boat. He'd been on a boat before. It had not been a good experience. He glanced at the largest man with the red beard (his human's father, unfortunately), and was extremely pleased to see a flash of guilt in the man's eyes. For good measure, Toothless bared his teeth slightly at the man and then, to top it off, wrapped his arms protectively around Hiccup.

Hiccup and Toothless were last to board the boat. Of course, they would have gotten on sooner if Toothless allowed himself to walk on to the thing. He hadn't let go of Hiccup yet.

Hiccup grabbed Toothless's arms and gently unwrapped them from his shoulders. "It'll be okay, Toothless! Not like last time, I promise."

Toothless could admit that he held immense respect for this puny human and all that he was capable of. But he did not want to get on the boat. He was starting to regret his decision to turn into a human.

"I'll just come on the next trip, okay? When I have wings again," Toothless said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Are you love birds getting on or what?! The fish will all have died of old age if you don't hurry up!" cried Tuffnut.

"Yeah, before the next ice age would be good!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Yeah, just – just give us a minute!"

He turned to his friend, who had murder in his eyes. "Sometimes, I wish I could just bite their limbs off one by one and-"

"Toothless, don't. Come on, just – I'll be right beside you the whole time, okay? And I won't let Stoick near you, if that helps."

Toothless inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Hiccup took the hint and led him on.

"We're on, open your eyes," he prompted.

Toothless turned so that he was facing Hiccup directly. Hiccup felt almost blasted by green. Even though Toothless's eyes were much larger as a dragon, the human shape and context they now possessed was thoroughly overwhelming. Hiccup was starting to suspect that the sorceress had infused his friend's eyes with a magnet that only attracted Hiccup's gaze.

Hiccup attempted to be as useful as he possibly could on the fishing trip, but really he only managed to get in the way. The last year had done wonders for his dragon-human peace keeping efforts, but nothing to improve his clumsiness. So instead he wound up sitting by Toothless on some baskets, trying to distract him from the dragons flying alongside the ship.

"Don't worry about it Hiccup, I chose to be like this, and it's only temporary. It's… interesting being grounded. I get now why you have so much fun riding me," Toothless said.

Stop saying it like that! Urgh! Hiccup cleared his throat. "I'm curious about that. Why did you choose this" – he gestured to all of Toothless – "as your wish?"

Toothless gave him a toothy smile. "I wanted to talk to you."

"About…"

Toothless shrugged. "About nothing. Everything. Just, talking. Like this, right now."

"How long have you wanted…?"

His friend shrugged again. "A while. I guess I've been waiting for something like this happen forever, really. I've been wanting to see what else was out there. Before I came to Berk on raids, I'd never been away from my birthplace. I don't know, I guess I feel like there I didn't…"

"… Fit in?" Hiccup finished for him. An uncontrollable smile split his face and his heart skipped a beat. Hiccup had never before even thought about Toothless's life before Berk, but now hearing that it was similar to his own life before he'd met Toothless… it made their bond even stronger in his opinion.

Toothless nudged his shoulder. "I'm glad I came to that last raid. Even though… Even though I got shot down, lost half my tail and you, y'know, almost knifed my guts,"

Hiccup bit his lip and looked down, guilty. Hiccup never thought he'd have the chance to talk about this with anyone besides Astrid, certainly never with Toothless. And now that the opportunity had miraculously presented itself, he didn't know how to word anything.

"Why were you ready to die so easily that day? When I was about to – uh, with the knife, why did you bare your neck?" Hiccup remembered how the dragon had closed its big green eye and tipped his head back, resigned to the shaking young Viking who didn't know how to properly hold a knife.

Toothless smiled and shrugged (it was his favourite human expression thus far). "Why didn't you kill me? I almost killed you eh, with my energy blast."

Hiccup nudged his friend's shoulder. "I could say something really sappy about how we both knew there was a bond there to be discovered, but uh – how about we both really stink at dealing death blows?"

"I like the first explanation," Toothless admitted. Hiccup silently told his face to stop blushing.

The fishing trip was successful, as far as fishing trips in Icelandic waters go. Both the local dragon and human populations would be happy for at least three days. The men brought the large catch into the middle of the boat. The men began sorting, discarding anything that wasn't edible (for example parts of shipwrecks that had gotten tangled up in the nets), and any fish that looked questionable. The nearby dragons intercepted any live by-catch, happy to fully appreciate food that the humans did not.

"Gah!" cried Toothless. He ran to the other side of the boat, hissing at the pile of fish.

"Woah, what? What happened?" Hiccup said, worried. The other dragons flying around the boat hissed and shrieked, distancing themselves from the ship. It didn't take long for Hiccup to figure the source of the stress. "Oh man," he said, chuckling. He went to the fish pile and tugged out a dead yellow and black striped eel. "Should've known."

Toothless looked green in the face. "Those things are so poisonous!" he shrieked, pressing his back as hard as he could against the side of the vessel.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. Not wishing to prolong his friend's stress, he threw the eel back into the water. "Really? I always just assumed you guys didn't like the taste."

Toothless shook his head violently. "No – no, they're pretty deadly. Sure way to kill a dragon," he stressed. "Any dragon." He exhaled and approached the culled pile of edible fish (the other dragons returned back to Berk, realizing they were out of by-catch). He licked his lips.

Hiccup glanced at him, worried. "Remember what I said about raw fish, huh?"

Toothless opened his mouth to retort, but Hiccup cut him off. "Your dragon saliva fights parasites and bacteria, not your human saliva."

Toothless resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at the human. He couldn't deny Hiccup's logic, but goddamnit he still wanted fish. His sense of smell in this smaller, frailer body was much weaker, but the scent of raw fish still registered and made his stomach grumble.

"We'll have some for dinner when we get back, okay?"

The fishing boat pulled up to the dock, and everyone did their part in helping unload the haul. Toothless, with his apparently dragon-like strength, managed to carry almost a quarter of the fish back to the dining hall. Only after promising Hiccup he wouldn't eat any, of course. About halfway up to the village, Ruffnut matched her pace with Toothless.

"Need some assistance?" she asked, drawing out the last word, ever present smirk on her face.

Toothless frowned and shook his head. This was the female of the matching set. Loud, obnoxious, and was always talking with Hiccup, but not just talking – she did it in this special way that Toothless couldn't quite read, but he knew he (and Hiccup) didn't like it. Didn't like her.

Hiccup hung back a bit, a frown on his face as he observed the development. He knew Ruffnut would try to flirt with Toothless again. She flirted with everyone, whether they liked it or not. He was glad Tuffnut didn't share that quality. Hiccup shuddered at the thought.

"I know, disgusting isn't it?"

Speak of the devil.

"She's trying to get in his breeches, I know it," Tuffnut stated plainly.

Hiccup nearly choked on his own spit, red creeping up his face. "W-what?!"

"She's flirting with him!"

"She flirts with me all the time! Does – does that mean-"

Tuffnut looked at him like he had grown a second head. "What, with you? Obviously not!" He whacked Hiccup upside the head, messing up his auburn hair.

Hiccup would never understand the twins. Not ever.

Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "She sucks at it. Nothing will happen, trust me."

Hiccup sniffed. "Why should I care? He can do whatever he wants. I don't care."

Tuffnut smirked at him. "Say you don't care again," he drawled sarcastically.

Hiccup nearly dropped his basket of fish in his haste to get away from the annoying Viking.

Much to Hiccup's annoyance, Ruffnut distracted Toothless the rest of the way up to the village. Not that he cared. (Okay, maybe he cared just a little bit… but he wasn't going to analyze why.)

Hiccup helped with the rest of the fishing crew to prepare half the catch for the night's dinner and for dumping into the communal dragon feeding bowl, then helped with salting the other half for storage. Hiccup was immensely impressed that Toothless had not only resisted diving into the pile of raw fish, but had actually helped with the post-catch processing too. Already Hiccup realized that the men of the village were going to miss human Toothless. He was strong, competent and coordinated. For a blink of an eye there lived in Hiccup's gut a stab of jealousy over how easily Toothless fit in with his human community. It was quickly forgotten when Toothless, grinning from ear to ear, leapt over and smothered him in a giant hug. Hiccup felt himself go red and half-heartedly struggled out of Toothless's fierce grip. For good measure, Hiccup searched for Astrid and, establishing eye-contact, mouthed "Help me!" She rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth twitched upward, a smile threatening to crack loose.

The pleasant weather was a rare blessing for this time of year, and thus dinner was held in the outside eating area (newly built due to the peaceful transformation of their previous pest problem).

"Did you get enough?" Hiccup asked, laughing. Toothless had three large fish on his plate, and one looked suspiciously undercooked.

Toothless grinned, his eyes crinkling. "I'm hungry," he said simply.

"You should probably add some variety to your diet," warned Hiccup, his eyes searching the other dishes on the table.

Toothless grinned again and turned around, looking over at the sheep pen. Hiccup followed his gaze.

"Cooked, yes. We can arrange that. Maybe. If…" Hiccup paused and flicked Toothless's forehead, "you're good."

Toothless stuck out his tongue and turned to his fish.

"So Toothless, why'd you wish to be human?" asked Astrid, who shoved herself in between Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup choked a bit on his fish at the sudden shoving. Toothless shot a glare at Astrid, then craned his neck to make sure Hiccup wasn't dying.

The young Vikings at the table turned to listen.

"I just wanted to be able to talk to Hiccup," he said, not giving anything away with his voice.

"I think he wanted to do more than just talk, eh sis?" Tuffnut said, sniggering and throwing a light punch on Ruffnut's shoulder.

"Knock it off!" She returned the punch, double force, to her brother's side.

Hiccup buried his beet red face in his arms, carefully avoiding his dinner plate.

Astrid ignored the twins. "So can you understand us when you're a dragon?"

Hiccup raised his head, curiousity demanding his attention. No one had asked that the night before. He'd always assumed Toothless could indeed understand Hiccup. His dragon was definitely more intelligent and emotional than any other species he'd encountered. From the very beginning Toothless had made it clear that he could understand the context or general meaning behind Hiccup's commands and sentences, but Hiccup was unsure if every word Hiccup said, and other humans said, translated.

Toothless nodded. "Most of the time, yeah." He shot a glare at Ruffnut, thinking of all the times the female had flirted with and taunted Hiccup. She winked at him and he flared his nostrils. "Some words I don't understand though," he admitted.

"But I can understand you fine," Hiccup said, puzzled. "Your face and body language as a dragon are pretty communicative. Your eyes especially."

The others went silent. They realized then, from just looking at Hiccup and Toothless (even though they were separated by Astrid), why they had won the contest. Why it hadn't even been a contest, really. None of the others could understand their dragons nearly as well as Hiccup and Toothless understood each other. They were like two halves of the same shield; together they were always able to weather any attack.

"Goodnight Dad," Hiccup offered, waving to Stoick. "C'mon, bed time," Hiccup said, his words lost in a huge yawn. They hadn't gotten any sleep the night before, having been up making the replacement foot. Exhaustion was pulling Hiccup's eyelids down, and by the time they made it to his room, he could barely see.

"Hm, uh, you can sleep - hm…" Hiccup scratched his neck, other hand resting on his hip. Usually Toothless slept either outside right near the house or by his bed.

Toothless didn't see a problem with sleeping on his usual spot on the floor, it seemed. He yawned (he was secretly comforted by the fact that yawning was very similar as both a human and a dragon) and, after circling his spot three times, lay on the floor. Hiccup smiled at the familiar dragon behaviour. He threw a thick blanket over Toothless.

"You'll be needing that. It gets pretty cold at night without a fire going," Hiccup mumbled, his voice muffled by his own blanket.

Toothless sat up and looked at the blanket, curious. Frowning, he brought the wool up to his nose and sniffed. He inhaled deeply and smiled a slow, lazy grin, and then hummed contentedly.

"Hm?" Hiccup mumbled from his bed.

"Smells like you," Toothless whispered.

Hiccup buried his face under his blanket to hide his blush.


	3. Day 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Limey smut in this chapter~

Hiccup groaned and buried his face in his bedding. Someone was making a stupid amount of noise for so early. The room was still damp and cool, the sun barely having been out long enough to warm the air and dispel the humidity. That same someone then thought it was the best idea ever to jump on him.

"Hiccup! Get up!"

Hiccup groaned again and flipped over on his stomach as best he could with a rambunctious teenaged male straddling him. "Ugh, why?" He had rarely been a morning person. Only on special occasions, like when his pet dragon needed fixing. Last he checked, his pet dragon was –

"Come ooooonn!" Toothless yelled in his ear.

Hiccup sighed explosively and turned back over. Toothless was all bright-eyed with barely contained excitement, practically bouncing up and down on Hiccup. Bouncing up and down, in a very awkward position. If he didn't get off soon -

"Okay, okay! Just – get off! Why are you so excited?" Despite himself, Hiccup felt a grin twitching at his lips.

"I wanna go flying!" said Toothless. He ran to the window and pointed, arm bouncing up and down.

"Er, but - "

"They're all going out! I heard them talking last night at dinner."

Hiccup blinked the sleep out of his eyes and tried to register what was going on. "Flying? But - " I'm supposed to fly with you! Well, there had been that one time with Astrid's nadder, but…

Toothless grinned and started tugging at Hiccup's foot. "Come on, we can share a nadder, if it makes you feel better," he said.

And it was weird, how Toothless could sometimes read his mind like that.

Hiccup let himself be pulled out of bed, straightening up before he hit the floor.

It was another perfect day for flying. The skies were blindingly blue, absent of clouds. The surrounding sea was mildly choppy with white caps here and there, and the dragons all seemed to be in a good mood.

Hiccup and Toothless met the rest of the gang down by the docks. Hiccup had managed to find a nadder on the island willing to accept a rider. He was a bit nervous about piloting a dragon other than Toothless, but in this unique occasion that luxury was gone. Hiccup was curious to see if the deadly nadder would be able to tell if his friend's form was the result of sorcery, and that his true form was that of a dragon. Toothless was practically beside himself in excitement. Hiccup could tell just from a glance that his friend's competitive streak would come out; he would be analyzing the nadder's form and flight techniques, and in the end would undoubtedly announce himself the more graceful flier. In Toothless's defence, Hiccup could admit that night furies were more graceful in the air than most other species.

Hiccup calmed the nadder and then mounted it, grabbing hold of the reigns. He extended an arm down to help Toothless up. "You'd better hold on to me," he said, leaving no room for Toothless to voice the argument tightening his mouth. "Look, I've got experience riding a dragon, thanks to you. And you don't. So come on,"

Toothless pouted and sniffed. He winked at the nadder (who all of a sudden looked uncomfortable and may have just realized that his second guest was really the offspring of death and lightning itself, magicked into the disguise of a human) and allowed himself to be pulled up by Hiccup.

"So where are we goin'?" Snotlout yelled out to the group, patting his monstrous nightmare's shoulder.

Astrid shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand as she gazed out past the island. "There's a dragon colony not far from here that Gobber wants us to check out!"

Fishlegs perked up, excited by the prospect of different species. "Oooh, I wonder what we'll find! Maybe some timberjacks, they have these razor sharp wings that can-"

"Sounds cool, let's go!" Snotlout yelled, drowning out the rest of Fishlegs's enthusiasm.

"That human has an interesting talent for judging the skills of dragon species," commented Toothless.

Hiccup snorted, amused. "Yeah, he's a weirdo."

"Like you," Toothless offered in full compliment, the words caught in a smile.

Hiccup pretended to be offended. "Who me? Naaaah, no way." He tugged on the reigns, and the nadder prepared to take off after the rest of the group. "Hold on tight!"

Toothless wasted no time in carrying out Hiccup's command. His arms snaked around Hiccup's waist, chin resting comfortably on Hiccup's shoulder. As soon as they were cruising in the air though, Hiccup heard Toothless laugh out loud and felt him release his waist to throw his hands in the air, clearly enjoying himself.

"This is amazing! I can just relax and let you do all the work!"

Hiccup snorted again. "It was like that at first with you and me, remember?!" Hiccup yelled over the wind.

Toothless punched his shoulder lightly. "Yeah, when you were still working out the kinks in that first tail!"

"That hurt you know, when you slapped me in the face with your ear! And your tail!"

"Hey, it's not my fault you made me stall and then fell off! That was terrifying!"

Hiccup smiled at the memory. In hindsight it had been amazing, that first test flight with Toothless. At the time though, spinning and falling in the air a thousand feet above icy cold waters had been extremely terrifying. Breath-taking, but terrifying.

The nadder put on a burst of speed, gaining pace to catch up with Astrid.

Toothless gave a short cry of surprise at the jolt and then quickly wrapped his arms around Hiccup's waist.

"Hey hey! Hold on, eh?" Hiccup said, worry in his voice.

"I don't like how this thing flies! It's too jumpy! Also too colourful!"

Hiccup smirked. There we go.

They all flew for about an hour before they found the dragon colony of which Gobber spoke. The colony's habitat was a small rocky island, shaped like a crescent, in the center of which was evidence of a glacial fjord. The group could see upon inspection three species of dragons. There were caves inundating the crescent, inhabited by a different species of dragon than lived on outside by the water. The third species seemed to prefer the exposed plateau at the top of the island. The Vikings didn't want to disrupt the peaceful existence of the fjord island, so they stayed in the air, circling the island instead of landing.

Hiccup reached into his furs and took out a brown notebook. He and Fishlegs had, for the last year, been working on a sequel to the Dragon Manual. The first volume was outdated and biased towards the earlier and more hostile Viking-Dragon relationship, and needed to be revised and updated to represent a more ecological study of the dragon populations. No longer did every entry end with "Extremely Dangerous, Kill on Sight", but instead with "Approach with Caution". Hiccup scratched a few things in the notebook, sketching what he could see of the dragons on the island.

On the second lap around the island, Toothless gasped and pointed. "Wait wait, go back!"

They all turned towards Hiccup and Toothless, curious as to what he'd seen. "Woah, what'd you see?" asked Snotlout.

Toothless squinted in the distance. He nudged Hiccup to bring the nadder closer to the island. They were about a ten feet away from the closest cave when he gasped again.

Astrid gasped. "Oh, wow! I've never seen another night fury before!" she said, surprise in her voice.

Hiccup leaned forward, eager to get a glimpse at the reclusive species. "In the cave?" he asked Toothless.

He nodded, his eyes wide. He seemed to be in a bit of a daze. "I think… I think it's a female," he said. He craned his neck forward, trying to get a better look.

The night fury was lying in the cave, apparently sleeping. Suddenly, it opened its eyes. From their distance, Hiccup was surprised at how vibrantly blue they were. Immediate comparisons in the dragon's appearance to Toothless lent that the individual was smaller in size, with slightly smaller ears, and a shorter tail. Otherwise, he couldn't tell the difference between the two.

"How do you know?" He asked, raising his voice over the wind.

The night fury's head perked up at the sound of his voice. Her eyes squinted and her pupils narrowed, her gaze darting back and forth between them all, like she was simultaneously curious and suspicious of her audience. She rose up on her legs and inched her way to the entrance of her cave, curiousity getting the better of her. Their nadder didn't seem to want to get any nearer. With a whoosh of its wings it moved backwards about a foot.

Toothless clicked his tongue and kicked the nadder with his good foot. "Hey, quit it! I wanna get a good look at her!"

Tuffnut whistled. "Ooh la la, Toothless has a little cruuuush!"

Toothless would have blasted the idiot off his zippleback if he could. For lack of a better option he just growled at him, flaring his nostrils.

Without warning, the night fury took off from her cave, flying over all their heads. They all watched her go. Hiccup smiled, glad that the night fury population existed outside of just Toothless. Of course he'd always assumed there would be more than just his friend, but until then that assumption had never been confirmed. But then of course, if Toothless was the only night fury, he would have produced offspring by now, if what he'd said about male dragons was true. Hiccup wondered if she had been the only one on the small island, for he could spot no other night furies.

Again, his friend seemed to read his mind. "We're a pretty solitary species at maturity. We like our space," said Toothless with a shrug.

"Let's head back!" cried Astrid.

"Aaaw, but I want to see the other species up close too! What if-"

"Can it, Fishlegs! We've gotta go help the others with the boats!"

Hiccup felt Toothless tense behind him. "Boats? Fishing again?"

Hiccup shrugged and tried to keep his voice relaxed. "Eh, not sure. Could be that we're building another one."

Toothless glared suspiciously at the back of Hiccup's head. He inhaled deeply and just let the sensation of flying, of the cool air whooshing through his hair and past his skin, take over everything else. He wrapped his arms around Hiccup, fully trusting his friend's skills as a pilot, and enjoyed the flight back to the Isle of Berk.

When they got back to Berk, Hiccup tossed Dragon Manual v2.0 to Fishlegs for him to scribe his own annotations.

"So, fishing again?" Toothless asked, sounding put-out. "Don't you humans have enough from yesterday's trip?"

Upon seeing his son's return, Stoick meandered through the large gathering of Vikings to Hiccup.

"Successful trip, son?" he said in his gruff voice.

Hiccup noticed he was avoiding looking directly at Toothless. He turned to look at his friend and noticed Toothless had his arms crossed and was glaring at the chief, lips curled in a sneer, threatening to bear his teeth.

"Wha – stop that Toothless! Geez, what's with all the attitude?" Hiccup said. He forced Toothless's arms to his side.

Toothless smirked. "How do you know I'm not glaring at you all like this all the time? Human faces are just more expressive," he said, barely containing a snigger.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and stepped in front of Toothless, blocking him from his father's view.

"Yeah, it was good. We spotted a scaldron, and I think maybe we discovered a new cave-dwelling species," Hiccup reported. He nodded his head over to the Dining Hall, where Fishlegs was surely sitting at a table, scribbling their findings into the Manual's sequel. Hiccup's eyes shifted to Toothless before he said, "And uh, we spotted a night fury too," he paused, "a female one. We think. Er, Toothless thinks."

Stoick's eyes widened a bit. "That's - that's good then! Good trip, then," he said a bit awkwardly.

Hiccup resisted the urge to sigh. It was always like this. The gang would have orders to go inspect a random dragon colony and report their findings, and add them to the Dragon Manual v2.0, and it all seemed fine, but then if they actually managed to discover any new species, it always made Stoick and Gobber visibly anxious. There had only been a few times when they'd actually encountered new dragon species, but every time their reaction was the same: a mixture of anxiety, stress and curiousity. Hiccup supposed that the three-century long conditioning that dragons were bad and only caused problems would not let up after only a year of delicate peace-keeping.

"So - er, is there a fishing trip?" Hiccup asked, eager to break the tense silence. Toothless was glaring at Stoick again. Hiccup wanted to hit Toothless. He knew now that no matter what excuses his friend gave, the former dragon was just annoying Stoick because he could.

Stoick blinked and cleared his throat. "No, there's a storm rolling in," he said, gesturing towards the crisp cloudless blue sky (Hiccup hadn't yet grown into the apparent Viking talent of predicting the weather). "The ships won' be sailin' today. We've enough to eat from yesterday's haul anyway. But we'll likely need to set out tomorrow. Winter's comin', y'know."

Hiccup almost felt the relief flood through Toothless. He noticed that the glaring stopped, to be replaced by an easy grin. Hiccup wouldn't be surprised if his friend hugged Stoick in his relief that he would not be getting on a boat any time soon. The Viking shook his head and snorted, amused. Yeah his friend may look completely different, but he was still the same temperamental Toothless.

Stoick opened his mouth to add something more to their conversation, but his attention was stolen by Gobber, who had just exited the Dining Hall.

"What now?" Toothless said, practically bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

"Man your mood changes fast," Hiccup commented, laughing and shaking his head. "Stop almost killing my dad with your evil death glares!"

Toothless barked out a laugh. He linked his arm with Hiccup's and proceeded to march them off in a random direction. "Okay okay! S'not my fault he's always so serious all the time," he said. His face pulled into a serious grin in mockery of the expression worn by not only Stoick but by the majority of Vikings in general.

Hiccup chuckled despite himself. As they were walking he noticed that – well, that they walked together rather well, despite both having metal contraptions for left feet.

Hiccup nodded down towards Toothless's aforementioned foot. "How's it working out for you?"

"Great, as your devices usually do," he answered, giving Hiccup a cheeky grin. "Wanna properly test its strength?"

"What do you - oh no, no Toothless, come on, that's not –"

"Come on, just get on!" Toothless had crouched down, his knees bent at a ninety degree angle, his back facing Hiccup. He motioned with his hands for Hiccup to get on his back. "It'll just be like old times!"

Hiccup did a quick scan of their surroundings. Nobody was watching them – yet. This was sure to end badly.

"Come on, you've ridden me loads of times!"

Hiccup went red in the face. "Will you stop saying that!" he hissed. "And that was different, you're – you're the exact same size as me and, okay, maybe you have a lot of strength still but-" Hiccup bit his lip, considering letting his best friend give him a piggy back.

Out of nowhere, Ruffnut ran over. She gave an unusually girly squeal and violently shoved Hiccup out of the way. "I'll go for a ride if he's too chicken!"

Toothless immediately straightened up and glared fiercely at the twin. "I wasn't offering you, you filthy girl," he bit out.

Smiling her best seductive smile, Ruffnut pressed up against Toothless. "I bet you like that, don't you dragon boy? When your women are filthy,"

Toothless flared his nostrils and wished he could blast this silly girl's head off. "That doesn't even make sense," he growled out. "Why would I like my mate to be covered in dirt?"

Ruffnut snorted and laughed in disbelief. "What?! Oh Thor you're thick!"

Hiccup cleared his throat and got up from the ground. "Ruffnut, butt-out okay?"

The blonde sniggered and turned away from them. "Whatever! Enjoy your ride," she said, turning back and wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at Hiccup.

Toothless pursed his lips as he watched her go. When she was out of sight, a grin transformed his face and he once again knelt down, offering his back to Hiccup.

"This again? Oh fine," Hiccup said, his tone only slightly disparaging.

It took a few adjustments for Hiccup to rest comfortably on Toothless. He was careful not to have his metal foot bang against his friend's thigh.

"Am I too heavy?" he asked in a worried voice.

Toothless laughed. "You're joking! I barely even feel you! It really is like before!"

Hiccup grumbled incoherently, trying not to be too offended.

"Where do you wanna go?" Toothless said. He was walking at a normal pace, towards the forest north of the village center. He hitched Hiccup higher up on his back, getting a better grip.

"You seem to already be heading in the direction of the cove, so just keep going," Hiccup said. He turned back to look at the sky. Far off in the distance he could see a front of cumulus clouds, a sign of the impending storm in his father's prediction. The storm would most likely bring torrents of ice cold water and hail. "We shouldn't stay out too long though," he said. "Storm'll be here soon."

"So?" Toothless said. They moved farther into the trees, Toothless being cautious of the roots and rocks in the path.

"Trust me, getting soaking wet as a human is a lot less convenient than as a dragon. Water doesn't just bounce off of us. Our clothes get wet and take forever to dry,"

Toothless looked down at this clothes. "Ah, right. Bit annoying, these. I feel so constricted in them… Can't you just remove them for the rain?"

"And be naked?! Hm," said Hiccup in a mockingly thoughtful way, "freeze to death or be wet. I think I'll keep the clothes on, thanks. Anyway, people usually stay in the Dining Hall or in their houses during storms to avoid both problems."

"I've been curious about my form beneath these clothes anyways," Toothless said, continuing as if Hiccup hadn't voiced his opinion on the matter. Toothless stopped suddenly, causing Hiccup's chin to bump against the back of his head. "Hang on! I've never even seen you without clothes on!"

"S-so? Why do you want to?"

Toothless turned to grin at him. "I'm curious!"

Hiccup struggled for a moment, his brain trying to find the words to tell his friend that he was not having this conversation. "Hey - hey why don't I give you a ride?" He said, desperate to change the subject.

Toothless narrowed his eyes at him, not missing a thing. "Sure," he finally said, eyes brightening. "But I'll probably crush you."

Hiccup slid off of his friend's back and knelt in front of him. "You have been eating a lot lately. I did say to lay off the fish," he said. "Come on, get on!"

Toothless smacked him lightly on the head. "I'm a growing boy," he said in self-defense. Hiccup snorted in disbelief. Toothless hopped onto Hiccup's back and together they swayed as Hiccup tried to regain his balance.

"Oof!" Hiccup exhaled.

"I'll get off," Toothless said immediately, preparing to dismount.

"No, no it's okay! Don't get off," Hiccup said, slightly breathless. And for the first time ever (and probably the last), Hiccup was the one giving Toothless a ride on his back. He couldn't stop grinning at the completely surreal moment. Hiccup took a tentative step forward, made an adjustment, then pressed onward. "There!" he said, pride shining through his voice.

Toothless hugged his arms around Hiccup's chest and smiled into his neck. "This is so weird! Never thought I'd be up here," he said. "Think you can make it to the cove?"

"Odin no!" Hiccup said, laughing breathlessly. He made it five more paces before he unceremoniously dropped Toothless to the ground. "Sorry! Couldn't-" he inhaled deeply – "couldn't give a warning,"

"Your laboured breathing gave you away," Toothless said. He ruffled Hiccup's hair as the boy panted. "I'm impressed you made it that far, honestly. How's your foot?"

Hiccup threw a scowl at his friend before bending over to inspect his device. "Seems to be okay," he reported happily.

Toothless gave him a grin before bursting off into a run, quickly covering the one hundred feet or so between them and their destination.

Hiccup caught up and entered the cove just as Toothless was removing his thick fur coat. Hiccup stopped abruptly, eyebrows scrunched. "Er, Toothless, what are you doing?"

His friend turned mid-shirt removal. The shirt was removed and revealed Toothless grinning from ear to ear. "Come on, you too!" he said. His hands began working on his pants.

"Are you insane?!" Hiccup hissed. "It's – it's freezing out! Toothless, you can't possibly think this is a good or smart idea!"

Toothless raised his arm, sniffed his armpit and scowled. "Surely you noticed the horrible scent reeking off me when you were on my back! Human bodies are so – productive," Toothless said with a grimace.

"I've gotten pretty used to bad scents, living with Vikings!" Hiccup approached Toothless and crossed his arms, getting goose bumps just looking at his exposed friend.

A cool breeze rushed through the cave and Toothless shivered. He lowered his arm and peered at it. "Neat! The hairs on my arm are pushing up! I miss my scales," he said, mouth drawn down in a pout. Despite himself, he began shivering slightly. Ignoring his body's message, he pushed down his trousers.

Hiccup clapped a hand over his eyes. "You are such an idiot! Don't blame me if you die of hypothermia!" Eyes covered, Hiccup wasn't aware that Toothless was naked and now standing directly in front of him.

"Ah, that's so much better! I feel free again," Toothless said, his happy sigh caught in a shiver. "I want to see you too," he added, fully expecting Hiccup to comply.

Hiccup flinched backwards when he felt hands at his waist. "No, seriously Toothless, please just – just put your clothes back on!" And Hiccup knew that, maybe if they were on some tropical island somewhere, and it wasn't almost below freezing out, that maybe – Hiccup squeezed his eyes tightly closed and lowered his hand to arrest the movement at his waist.

"You - You're the exact same build as me, just - look at yourself and you'll know what I look like," Hiccup argued.

Hiccup sensed that Toothless was no longer in front of him.

"Toothless?" Slowly, he opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings. The discarded clothes were still on the ground. "Where – Oh Thor, you idiot!"

Toothless appeared, his head poking out from the surface of the pool four feet from where Hiccup was standing.

"When did you – Get out! No, listen to me, you will actually die!" Hiccup stomped over to the pool, stunned and in pure disbelief at how idiotic his friend was behaving. "And you probably can't even swim in that body!"

Toothless shook his head (and tried to stop his body from shuddering with the cold). "I'm n-not getting out until – until you sh-show me!" He waded around the pool, keeping his head above the water.

Hiccup slapped a hand to his face and then pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't believe this," he muttered. "Fine, but it'll probably be the last thing you see before you freeze to death!"

Toothless glued his eyes to Hiccup as his friend rushed to remove his clothing. He could admit that his human companion might possibly be right – he would have to vacate the pool in another few minutes if he wanted ever to fly on his own steam again.

Hardly believing the situation he was in, Hiccup made quick work of removing his clothing. In under a minute he stood there, at the edge of the pool, completely naked, trying to keep himself from wrapping his arms around his shaking torso.

"There, are you h-happy now? You big idiot," Hiccup bit out, teeth beginning to chatter. He was already reaching for his tunic.

Toothless stepped out of the pool and nodded, unable to speak for shivering. He had definitely never been so cold in his life, but it had been worth it. He tried to communicate that to Hiccup in the usual way, with his eyes, but the other boy was looking away.

"A-all your h-heat," Toothless began, pausing to collect himself, "is in your f-ffface!" Uncontrollable laughter bubbled from his throat as he stood there, shaking.

Hiccup shot him a stony glare, careful to not let his eyes wander. "I h-hate you," he snapped, blushing even harder.

Toothless laughed, knowing (hoping) that Hiccup didn't mean that. He snatched his clothes up from the ground and began putting them on. Or at least, he tried to put them on. He actually had never dressed himself before, as the sorceress had conjured his form completely dressed.

"Er," he said, slightly uncomfortable. "T-taking these off was easy, but I'm not s-s-sure how to…"

Hiccup was already dressed, having wasted no time. He had even stopped shivering. Toothless, who was still soaking wet (and still horribly naked) was not so lucky. He was standing there, holding his tunic, looking a bit lost. And terribly cold.

Hiccup felt his anger die away, despite his best efforts to sustain it. He sighed. "This is what you get for doing something so stupid."

"It w-was worth it-t," Toothless said with an almost dreamy smile.

Hiccup was seriously beginning to wonder if the sorceress had altered Toothless's brain along with his body. "Alright, fine, I'll help you, but only because your lips are turning blue and I'm not strong enough to carry your dead body back."

And at that moment, it began to rain. Not just a soft, nice rain, no – the skies had decided to unleash upon them a torrential downpour of icy cold water, complete with hail and everything.

"REALLY?!" Hiccup yelled into the sky. He clenched his hands into fists and angrily punched the wall of rain falling all round them. Hiccup had been so – erm, preoccupied – with his friend's antics that he'd not noticed how very dark the sky had suddenly become. "We need to find somewhere to hide!"

"Wait-"

A fork of lightning split open the sky, followed much too closely by a violently loud crack of thunder.

"No! Now! Look there, that little outcrop of rocks!" Hiccup shouted urgently, pointed to their left. He tugged Toothless by the wrist, leaving his pile of clothes. They were already soaked through and would only make the boy colder. He would finish being angry with his friend later - right now they needed to wait out the rain in a dry place and conserve what little body heat remained.

There was just enough space for the two of them to half-lay beneath the roof of rock. Beside Hiccup, Toothless shuddered through a whole-body shiver, almost doubling over. Another loud crack of thunder split their ears, and Hiccup feared for a second that their shelter had also split.

"I- r-r-regret n-n-nothing," stuttered Toothless through clenched teeth. He pressed his body flush against Hiccup, desperate to keep his body from shutting down. "H-human bodies are s-so fffffrag-g-g-gile!"

Hiccup sighed and, knowing longer he no longer had any choice, reluctantly peeled off his wet clothing. In early childhood it was important to be taught that the best way to defend another body from hypothermic shock was to share body heat without any barriers, including clothing. Especially cold, wet clothing. He laid the clothes flat on the rocks next to him, keeping them out of water's way. Twisting only his torso and averting his eyes, he pulled Toothless into a tight embrace.

"This is ridiculous," Hiccup muttered. In the past year he and Toothless had gotten into some tricky situations, but nothing of this magnitude. Certainly nothing life-threatening - at least not since their epic battle with the Red Death. "You'd think you'd retain some kind of fire breathing, or warming or something other than dragon strength," mumbled Hiccup. Yes, he definitely hated that sorceress at the moment.

"H-how… how l-long…" Toothless's sentence ended prematurely, dying on his lips as another shudder stole his body. He gasped and wrapped his arms around Hiccup, pressing his cold face into the relative warmth of the other boy's neck.

"Not too long. These storms are intense but short," Hiccup answered, his voice muffled by the violently loud rain. As if on cue, an intensely loud clap of thunder confirmed the truth in Hiccup's words.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Toothless admitted after a few minutes. It had been so quiet that the confession had almost gone unnoticed, the sound of it lost in the rain and rumbling thunder.

Hiccup held his friend tighter, keeping him still through another body-heaving shudder. "You owe me big time after this, buddy," he said quietly.

After that Toothless was silent for a long while. Hiccup's head was resting on his friend's shoulder and he was gazing out at the rain, almost hypnotized by the never-ending downward torrent of water and hail. The sky flashed with another bolt of lightning. The answering thunder followed shortly after, but not as quickly as earlier, a sign that the storm was passing on to harass another location. Absent mindedly, Hiccup rubbed his hand up and down his friend's back. He was still trying to ignore the fact that he was hiding from a storm, underneath a sad excuse for a shelter, with his friend who, three days ago, had been a dragon. Oh, and that they were both wet and naked.

"Hey, Toothless…" Hiccup said. He poked his friend in the shoulder. "Toothless?"

No answer.

Hiccup frowned and a sinking feeling in his gut told him that his friend should definitely not be asleep right now.

"Buddy? Come on, this isn't funny, wake up," Hiccup urged. He slapped his friend's cheek lightly. Still nothing. Hiccup sighed in frustration. He could tell that his friend was still breathing. Maybe he had genuinely fallen asleep and there was actually nothing to worry about?

But then Toothless shuddered again, and his lips were still blue-ish, and – no

Before his mind could interfere, Hiccup cupped his friend's cheeks and kissed him full on the mouth. Hiccup's stomach jolted, mostly with concern at how damned cold the other boy's lips were beneath his, and with unexpected pleasure (but mostly with concern!). Hiccup had thought that maybe Toothless had just been faking sleep to get Hiccup to kiss him awake, but the other boy had still not woken. Hiccup turned his whole body into the embrace with Toothless and kissed him again, putting more force into it. It had to work, this was the closest he had ever been to anybody, and he didn't have much more warmth to give, but –

Toothless gave a quiet groan and pressed his lips into Hiccup's. And damnit all if that wasn't the best sensation in the whole entire world. Only because it meant that his friend was not dead. Nothing else.

Hiccup broke away, torn between jumping with relief and smacking his friend. "You dummy, it is absolutely not okay to fall asleep right now!"

Toothless smiled at him, looking drowsy and very happy. "Not okay? That was more than okay," he said, his words a bit slurred.

Hiccup leaned back a bit, his face serious. "This isn't a joke! Why is everything a joke to you?"

"I wasn't joking," Toothless argued, his voice slightly husky. He leaned forward into Hiccup, pressing him against the rock wall behind them. He pressed their chests together and, now panting slightly, pressed a series of kisses to Hiccup's neck.

Hiccup squeezed his eyes closed and bit his lip, not moving, not knowing what to do exactly. It was still too surreal; he didn't have enough to base a decision on. His gut instinct was telling him that, embarrassment aside, if he really wanted to be warm, doing – this – with his friend was the most effective method. What exactly 'this' was, Hiccup couldn't define.

"What-what are you doing?" Hiccup asked, trembling voice cracking on the first 'what'.

A bubble of nervous laughter fell out of Toothless's mouth to land on Hiccup's ear. "I have no idea. I've never… this form makes me want to do things…"

That, Hiccup could understand. He imagined every teenage boy could understand.

"I – I think humans are the only species that have physical displays of affection," Hiccup wondered aloud, talking because he was nervous. It was a bad habit. The echoing rumble of distant thunder seemed to agree with his hypothesis.

"Hmmm," Toothless mumbled. In a bold move (because Toothless had never been shy), Toothless moved to straddle Hiccup. They both gasped at the sensation of naked skin pressed together.

Hiccup dipped his head into his friend's shoulder and shuddered, but it had nothing to do with the cold. In fact, he felt quite hot all of a sudden. He swallowed nervously and slowly hugged Toothless close to him. Toothless resisted, leaning back, meeting Hiccup's eyes.

Hiccup gasped. Toothless's normally bright green eyes were almost completely black. A low growl began emanating from Toothless's chest and his breath quickened. He exhaled sharply out is nose, nostrils flaring. He grinded himself against Hiccup and they both groaned at the raw contact.

"Ah…" moaned Hiccup. His head fell against the rock, breath coming in huffs.

"I… I want to see you, I want to touch all of you," Toothless demanded, gasping as he rocked harder and harder against the other boy. "What happens – what happens when-aaaaah…"

Hiccup swallowed and licked his lips. He wasn't sure of the question and so didn't know which words to answer with. So they fell back on their default of wordless communication.

Toothless captured Hiccup's lips and Hiccup, gladly accepting defeat, opened his mouth for him, letting their tongues slide against one another. Hiccup moaned and his stomach flipped as unprecedented pleasure bled through him. He was harder than he'd ever been in his life. He raised his knees up on either side of his friend and placed his hands on the ground for better leverage. The kiss was messy and wet and hot all at once, and nothing short of perfect. Toothless pushed his hands through Hiccup's hair, then let them wander down his neck, his shoulders, his back, his hips, all the way increasing the pressure with his nails, leaving flushed red trails on the pale skin. He growled against Hiccup's lips, sucking on the bottom one, making it swollen and wet. Hiccup arched his hips into Toothless's hands. He shuddered as Toothless grabbed at his cock, pulling at him roughly with clumsy movements. Hiccup didn't care, it still felt bloody amazing. He reciprocated and felt immense satisfaction as Toothless broke from the kiss to growl in pleasure, Hiccup's comparatively more practiced hands pulling and tugging at the other boy's erection.

Toothless leaned forward and sunk his teeth into the juncture between Hiccup's neck and shoulder. He sucked and licked and bit from his neck to his ear lobe, sucking hard, wanting to lick and mark every single inch of his human. An intense pleasure was building in his gut, coiling around, promising a release that he had never felt before. So lost in his pleasure, his hand fumbled to a stop near Hiccup's cock. He shook and thrust into Hiccup's hand, moaning against the boy's bruised neck.

"Ah – something's – Oh, ooooh," Toothless moaned and gasped as he bucked into Hiccup's hand. "What-"

"Yeah, yeah – just – go with it," gasped Hiccup. He raked his nails down Toothless's back, eliciting the loudest groan from him yet.

"Again – do – again," Toothless bit out from behind clenched teeth. He placed both hands on the wall, a hand on either side of Hiccup's head, his forearms flexed. He rose up on his knees and Hiccup didn't break his pace. Hiccup raked his nails against Toothless's back again and with a loud cry, Toothless came all over Hiccup's flushed chest.

Toothless collapsed against Hiccup, breathing hard and groaning. Hiccup rutted against him, still achingly hard and not turning back now. His boldness only increasing, Toothless wasted no time and began kissing his way down Hiccup's body.

"Wait – no, you don't have to-" Hiccup shut his eyes, too embarrassed to look. His mouth opened in a silent scream when he felt warm lips press against his cock. He stuffed a fist in his mouth and arched into the sensation, craving more but at the same time not daring to hope.

"I bet you wish I really was toothless, huh?" Toothless mumbled, looking up at Hiccup with a devilish smirk.

"Oh God," Hiccup moaned, mortified. And then Toothless licked him, hot wet tongue sliding from root to tip, and he came the hardest he had ever come in his life. "God, where did you – why – I can't… I can't…" Hiccup lost himself in trying to form a sentence; his brain was mush and was not allowing anything more advanced than incoherency. Where the hell had Toothless seen that before?

Toothless dragged his fingers through the layer of semen on Hiccup's chest and sat up, peering at his fingers curiously. Hiccup groaned and covered his face with his hands, embarrassed enough to die.

"This is your seed!" Toothless proclaimed, amazed at his discovery. "And, well, I guess some of mine too…"

"Ugh, just shut up," Hiccup said weakly.

"Blech! Nope, I don't like that!"

Hiccup spread his fingers apart to peek. Toothless was shaking his head, grimacing. He leaned out from underneath the rock shelter to swallow a mouthful of rain, swished it around in his mouth and spit.

"Did you just…"

"Doesn't taste very good," Toothless said, as if he was maybe referring to a piece of fish and not a mixture of their ejaculate. "Really bitter… and salty."

"I don't want to know," groaned Hiccup, covering his ears.

Cleaning themselves was extremely convenient, given that they were already naked, and the rain was still sprinkling down. After another few minutes, the rain had completely stopped.

"We should go back now," Hiccup stated, frowning at the sky. Most of the cumulonimbus clouds had moved on, leaving in their wake a perfect blue sky exposing a vibrant sun. The best part about violent thunderstorms was the crystal clear aftermath. "It's gonna suck putting on our clothes, but we don't really have much choice."

Hiccup walked out into the clearing, his soaking wet clothes in hand. He shivered as he dressed, grimacing at the discomfort of putting on cold, damp clothing.

Toothless glared at his clothes. "I hate these things. Why do you even wear them? Doesn't make sense."

Hiccup shrugged. "We just do. It's been that way forever."

Toothless sighed and decided just to let this one go. The social customs of humans were apparently never ending and complex. Fortunately, he would be subject to them only for a few more days.

Looking over at Hiccup, Toothless smirked. He walked up to him and adjusted his shirt and fur vest to better cover his neck. "You'll want to cover that up, I imagine," he said, not hiding the annoyance out of his voice.

Hiccup looked down and gasped, blushing as he noticed the extremely evident line of hickies in between his ear and shoulder. "Thanks a lot! Geez!"

"I like it. I marked you for everyone to see," said Toothless, smiling.

Hiccup glared at his completely oblivious friend. "Yeah well of course you like it - you don't have to show yourself in the village with bite marks all over your-"

"Wanna pay me back?" Toothless asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Hiccup just ignored him, red in the face.

Toothless huffed angrily, patience suddenly gone. He huffed again and stomped off, moving to exit their cove. "Let's go. We need to change into something dry."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and moved to follow, ignoring his friend's little outburst. "Oh so now you're concerned about your body," he said flatly. "If I get sick and die from this little escapade, I'm blaming you."

"Don't worry. I told you my saliva fights sickness, and I think you received enough of it," Toothless replied, giving him a sly grin. "Hah! You blush so easily!"

"Shut up," Hiccup said, punching Toothless lightly in the side.

Hiccup became more embarrassed the closer they got to the village. Everyone would see the hickies on his neck, and no one except for the youngest of Vikings would be ignorant as to what they meant, or from whom he had received them. Hiccup was suddenly wondering who would win in a fight: Stoick or Toothless?

"I think I'll just live in my room for the next week," Hiccup said in a light tone of voice that hid nothing. They had reached his room in desire of warm clothes. Hiccup turned, his back facing Toothless, and wasted no time in undressing, this time not minding as much since they were inside where it was actually warm, and more importantly, dry. "Here," he said, throwing some spare furs at Toothless. He didn't turn to look as he heard Toothless removing his damp clothes. He heard them fall to the ground with a wet flop.

A crazy idea entered Hiccup's mind as he put on dry clothes…

"You know what? Screw it, I am getting you back," Hiccup said, suddenly feeling unusually bold. He grabbed Toothless and shoved him to his bed, leaning over him. Before Toothless could say anything, Hiccup had his mouth latched on right below the other boy's ear, making sure the hickey would be extremely visible above any clothing line.

Instead of objecting or trying to throw Hiccup off, Toothless groaned and hugged Hiccup closer to him. He raised his knees up, one on either side of Hiccup and bucked up into him.

"Shh, don't make any noise," Hiccup whispered into his ear. He bit down hard on the other boy's earlobe and then moved to give him another hickey. By the end of it, his mouth was slightly sore.

He sat back and admired his work. "There, now we're even." He got up off the bed before Toothless could physically persuade him to go any further. He couldn't believe he'd just done that.

Hiccup shook his head, dispelling the extremely out of character fantasy. Maybe he could… No. He turned to find Toothless standing there, still naked. "Wha- Oh. Right. You still need help."

Toothless shook his head and shrugged. "Nah I think I got it, watching you. These go like this, right?" He sat down on the bed and attempted to put on the pants. And actually succeeded.

Hiccup raised his eyebrows, impressed.

"All good now?" Hiccup asked, waiting near the door.

Toothless grinned at him, visibly prideful that he'd successfully dressed himself. His eyes shot to Hiccup's neck before he could stop himself and his grin widened. Hiccup shoved him in the shoulder.

"I'm just going to do what I do best. Melt into the surroundings," Hiccup said, face set in a determined glare. They exited the little house and made their way to the Dining Hall. The sun was setting by the time they reached the building, and they could hear voices inside. Dinner was not for another hour at least, and Hiccup's stomach grumbled in impatient expectation. Being cold for so long worked up an appetite. Engaging in certain – activities – didn't help, either.

"You're making a big deal out of nothing. I saw – what's her name – Mildred? last week with the same markings on her neck," remarked Toothless off-handedly.

Hiccup scoffed. "What – what are you, some kind of spy now?"

Toothless shrugged. "I notice things. She was near the sheep pen with her mate and they were-"

Hiccup flailed his hands around, spluttering and shushing his friend. "I don't need to know! And why were you even near the sheep pen? Where was I?" They were standing in front of the half open doors to the Hall now, Hiccup in absolutely no hurry to enter.

"You were in the workshop, I don't know what you were doing," said Toothless a little shortly. "I wasn't going to touch any of the sheep. Why are you so – worked up over this? Mating isn't something to be embarrassed about."

Hiccup sighed in frustration and pulled up the fur vest to better cover his neck. "Let's just drop it, okay? Come on, let's go in." Hiccup grabbed his friend's wrist and entered the Hall. For the first time he was thankful of the dim lighting in the spacious room. Like a magnet, Hiccup's eyes focused on Mildred, a middle-aged woman of the village, and his face lit up like a tomato. He tore his attention away when she gave him a questioning look. Laughing, she turned back to her husband. Self-conscious, Hiccup's hand flew to the left side of his neck.

Beside him, Toothless exhaled loudly. "Sorry. If I'd known it would bother you this much, I wouldn't have done it," he muttered grumpily.

Hiccup blinked at him with wide eyes. "What? No, no I'm not-" he sighed and brought his voice down to a whisper, "I'm not offended," he said. "It's just – it's not exactly acceptable for a young boy to be with another boy alright? If my father finds out… Well, you know how strict he is! He freaked out about me having a pet dragon. Imagine how much he'll freak out if he knows about…" He gestured to Toothless and back at himself, and then pointed to his neck.

"Maybe you can change things around again?"

Hiccup gave a sad laugh. "Yeah, but the prerequisite is an epic battle involving sacrificial limbs. Much easier said than done."

Toothless scanned the room for the Chief Viking, who appeared to be absent. "So then we'll just keep this a secret, and then when I change back, it'll all be normal again," Toothless said, sounding annoyed. Damn these humans were blind and closed-minded. "What's it to him, anyways? It's not hurting you; you should be able to do whatever the hell you want."

Hiccup snorted and grinned. "Try telling him that. But I did go after you, didn't I? If I had been that scared of him back then, I would probably have just left you there in the forest," he said. He knew he was lying before he'd even finished the sentence.

Toothless looked at him with pity in his eyes. Pity that such an honest creature could so easily lie to himself and his best friend. "No you couldn't have."

Hiccup placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Damn straight. Anyways, it's kind of hard to keep this is a secret when my neck is now actively advertising it."

"So… you're not offended then?"

There was such a raw sadness and fear in Toothless's eyes that Hiccup felt he had no choice but to hug him.

"No," whispered Hiccup into his ear. "Not at all. Actually, uh, I wouldn't mind if-"

"Hey, you lovebirds gonna join us, or do it standing up?"

Hiccup choked on his own spit and quickly pulled away from Toothless.

"Do what standing up?" snapped Toothless.

Ruffnut gave a scornful laugh.

"Thor be damned but I despise that annoying creature," Toothless growled, shooting daggers with his eyes.

Ruffnut was smirking at them, her eyes light with that constant amusement at all the things around her.

"You're just jealous," Toothless bit out scathingly. He went over to their table with Hiccup and sat down, Toothless next to Astrid (compared to Ruffnut, Astrid was a much better choice of a mate for his human) and Hiccup next to Fishlegs. Hiccup was slouching, trying to make himself as small and invisible as possible (but sadly not succeeding).

Ruffnut looked mockingly impressed and nodded. "I thought that'd be obvious by now."

Fishlegs poked Hiccup in the shoulder. "I have an idea for the manual," he said, bouncing with excitement.

Hiccup turned miserable eyes up at him. "Yeah? What is it?"

Fishlegs seemed to be impervious of Hiccup's 'don't-talk-to-me-I'm-trying-to-disappear' aura. "You should interview Toothless and transcribe it to the night fury section!"

Despite himself, Hiccup sat up straight, perking up at the idea. "You're a genius!" He leaned forward to Toothless. "Hey, buddy, you up for that? It'd be the only opportunity ever to do that!"

"And he could tell you about the other dragons he knows too!"

Toothless shrugged and smiled. "Sure. But as I said before, we're a solitary species. We don't really associate with other-"

"Hiccup."

"- dragons much, so-"

"Hiccup, what happened to your neck?"

"- I wouldn't really be able to help with the other entries much-"

"Toothless! Shut up for a second!"

Astrid was practically undressing Hiccup right there at the table.

Hiccup pulled away, covering his neck and trying to shrink himself. "N-nothing! What? I don't even – have a neck! What are you talking about? Hey, stop it! Shove off!" He stretched out his arms against Astrid, blocking her attack. He tried to adjust his fur back in place but - "Gaaaaaaaooowh!" - She was twisting his arm now, a favourite move of hers.

"Tell me! Who punched you?" she asked, sounding genuinely worried. "Or strangled you, or – who did it!"

Hiccup almost laughed in relief. He heard Toothless snort and promptly kicked him underneath the table.

"Uh – right – it was Toothless! We were just – heh, you know, playing!" Hiccup leaned over and ruffled his friend's dark hair, making it look even more fly-away. "You know how two boys can be!"

Astrid raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Playing? In a thunderstorm?"

Ruffnut smirked and gave a low whistle. "Is that what you boys call it now? Playing?" She gave an 'oof!' of surprise when Toothless kicked her beneath the table. Tuffnut sniggered behind his hand. Snotlout was lost in confusion and Fishlegs was completely self-absorbed in the brilliance of his idea to enhance the Dragon Manual.

"Uh yeah, we were down by the cove, and we got caught in it," Hiccup said, happy to at least be telling the truth about something.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she mumbled.

"Really?" Toothless laughed in disbelief. "I mean, come on, I knew you humans could be blind but-" He shut his lips tight at the look on Hiccup's face. He cleared his throat. "When's dinner?"

Ruffnut narrowed her eyes at him, then shot them to Hiccup, whose eyes were steely, then down to his bruised neck. She turned to whisper into her twin's ear, whose face fell and turned green. Of course, her brother had assumed they'd all been joking and the innuendos had no sustenance behind them. His eyes flicked back and forth between Hiccup and Toothless in disbelief.

"Why?!" he mouthed at his sister.

"It's hot!" she mouthed back.

He pretended to vomit all over her and she punched him in the face.

They all sat there in semi-awkward silence (Hiccup still trying to disappear), until Stoick added his commanding presence to their group. He had just come over from overseeing the dinner preparations. He clapped a hand on his son's shoulder, nearly pushing him into the table.

"I'd like to speak with you, son," he said, his voice betraying nothing. Stoick's eyes were looking anywhere but at Hiccup's neck.

Hiccup swallowed and his face paled. He hitched up the furs a little higher, even though it was useless by now.

Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it.

"O-okay," he said, his voice wavering. His wide blue eyes jolted across to Toothless, who stood immediately, mouth set in a tight frown, green eyes blazing and clearly ready for a fight.

"You stay here," Stoick commanded, stern voice leaving no room for objection. Growling deep in his chest, Toothless sat back down.

Stoick lead Hiccup out of the Hall, a hand on each shoulder.

When Stoick closed the Dining Hall doors behind them, Hiccup knew he was in trouble.

For a moment neither said anything, and the awkward tension built so thick that Hiccup could hardly breathe. It felt similar to the time when Stoick had assumed Hiccup's success in dragon training would offer them conversation topics, but both had struggled to converse.

Hiccup fidgeted with his shirt sleeve and avoided meeting his father's steely gaze.

"Son, look at me," Stoick said, voice unusually gentle.

Hiccup sighed and drifted his eyes upward. Might as well get this over with. "Look, Dad, it's – it's only temporary, and-" And he really didn't know how to express himself to his father of all people, because he didn't even know what he was feeling himself. He blinked and sighed again. "I… I don't really know what I'm doing."

Surprisingly, his father chuckled. Hiccup's heart skipped a beat. Maybe he would actually survive this conversation?

Stoick sighed, sounding somewhat tired. "Look, I-I've always known yer a bit – well, different, son. What with the dragons an- and everythin',"

Hiccup flinched and lowered his eyes again. He hoped he wasn't going to be disowned like last time. A heavy hand came to rest at his shoulder again and Hiccup looked up, hardly daring to hope.

"But yer still my son, got it?" Stoick looked like he was struggling, his mouth trying to decide between an encouraging grin and a serious frown.

Hiccup's mouth was tight and for some absolutely stupid reason, tears were threatening to spill out of his eyes. To save whatever dignity he had left, he blurted out: "I like girls!" Hiccup was suddenly very glad of the closed doors.

Stoick glanced at Hiccup's neck and his eyebrows rose up. "Oh! I thought-"

And this was getting extremely awkward. "Er – no, no that was Too-"

"Right then!" Stoick interrupted, not being able to hear his son actually voice the truth (a father could only handle so much). "Right, well, just – glad we had this talk."

"Er, right. Yeah. Thanks," Hiccup said. Could someone die of awkwardness? Perhaps he would be not only the first Viking ever to ride a dragon, but also the first human being to parish from an overdose of embarrassment? He was extremely thankful though, that his father had accepted his – his intimacy with a dragon-turned-human-for-a-week. The man had really changed, and Hiccup was proud of that. "Thanks Dad," he said genuinely, smiling up at Stoick.

Stoick clapped his hands together and nodded. "Dinner," he announced, pushing open the doors.

I have the best father in existence. The grin on Hiccup's face, and his unharmed person, was enough to calm Toothless into remaining seated.

"So he didn't disown you?" asked Toothless, shooting a wary glance at Stoick.

"Nope!" And Hiccup was so happy that he bent down and gave his friend a big hug. He ruffled his hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Now it was Toothless's turn to blush.

Everyone at the table watched, wide-eyed.

"You guys are so disgusting," Tuffnut said with a grimace. "Like, I can't even – just, no."

"I think it's sweet," Fishlegs said in a dreamy-voice.

Snotlout nearly choked on his drink. "Wait." He slammed his tankard down and pointed between Toothless and Hiccup, eyebrows furrowed. "Wait – wait, what? You guys are – WHAT?!"

Toothless smirked at Snotlout and pulled Hiccup into his lap. "You're eating dinner like this," he said sternly. Snotlout started making incoherent noises of general disbelief.

"Nah, I think we might kill Snotlout," said Hiccup, laughing. He slid down beside him, next to Astrid.

Astrid barely acknowledged Hiccup, staring down at the table, scratching aimlessly at the wood. Hiccup felt a pang of guilt in his chest. Surely she understood that this – this thing with Toothless – would not be permanent? Hiccup had never been good at relationships before (he'd never really had one outside of Toothless), but he promised himself then that he'd make an effort for Astrid. Before the manifestation of Toothless's wish, Astrid had made a few advances on Hiccup, but never anything beyond a kiss on the mouth or an affectionate punch to the shoulder. Feeling him staring at her, Astrid turned to look at him. She opened her mouth to say something-

"… tomorrow? Hey, Hiccup, are you listening?"

Someone nudged his shoulder, interrupting his inner turmoil.

"What?" Hiccup said, distracted. He held Astrid's gaze for a second longer and then turned to Toothless. "Sorry?"

Toothless's green eyes darted behind Hiccup to Astrid (he didn't miss anything) then back to Hiccup. "Do you want to work on the book tomorrow?"

"Uh, I think my Dad said we're going fishing tomorrow," Hiccup replied.

Toothless's posture fell and his bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

"Speaking of fish, let's get some," said Tuffnut. He grabbed Ruffnut's arm and they all got up to fill their plates.

"Do we have to go?" Toothless grumbled as they sat back down.

Hiccup frowned. "I dunno. I guess not,"

"Yeah, you're pretty useless on the trips anyways," Astrid said.

Hiccup was secretly pleased that her comment rested on her normal amount of venom (even though he felt he deserved much more). "True. I'll ask if we can-"

Gobber stalked over to their table, a chicken leg in one hand. "Hiccup! Don't think yer getting' off easy just because your dragon's turned human, now. I've got some orders to fill for the shop," Business done, he stalked back to his own table.

"… Or we could just work in the shop?" Hiccup finished, sounding both relieved and put-out.

Toothless seemed to like the idea of more chances to watch Hiccup do what he does best. "Sounds good to me! How long will that take?"

Hiccup shrugged. "Depends on what needs making. We'll just have to work on the book the next day." That'll be Day five, he added silently, keeping track.


	4. Day 4

The fourth day of Toothless's human existence was comparatively uneventful. While Hiccup practiced black-smithing with Gobber, Toothless sat outside with the old Dragon Manual. Hiccup had suggested he try reading it for entertainment.

"Can you read Icelandic?" Hiccup asked, curious.

Toothless looked at him in disbelief. "When would I have learned?"

"Sorry, right. Uh, I guess you can look at the pictures? Anyways, think of any questions you want to ask tomorrow, and anything you can contribute to the book," he said. He was tying on his apron, getting ready to fire up the kiln.

Not being able to read, Toothless quickly got bored (human attempts at dragon artistry were only so interesting, though he had stared at Hiccup's renderings of his former dragon self for about ten minutes). Around mid-day he ventured back into the workshop. He took a deep inhale, loving the heat and smell of fire inside the workshop. "Oh, I like it in here," he said.

"We just finished an axe. You want to see?" Hiccup said happily, holding it up.

Toothless flared his nostrils and crouched down low, body language nothing but defensive. He took a few steps back from Hiccup, his pupils slit and a loud growl rumbling from his chest.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Hiccup apologized. He immediately dropped the axe. Toothless stood back up, still a bit wary but largely himself again. Gobber blinked at them both in silence.

"Why are you still making weapons?" Toothless asked, an edge of anger in his gravelly voice.

Hiccup looked to Gobber.

"Oh, it's fer choppin' down trees, ya know. For the fires," the Viking explained.

"The one we usually use just split in the middle. Here, see?" Hiccup showed Toothless the two pieces of steel that had once been the wood-chopping axe. He smiled at his friend as he inspected the pieces. Toothless gently touched one of the halves, finger sliding down the still-sharp edge.

"Why did it break?" He asked, looking up with inquisitive eyes.

Hiccup shrugged. "Probably had a pressure point through the middle, and someone hit it just right and so it just-" Hiccup placed the two halves together and then separated them again, demonstrating the split.

"Pressure point…" Toothless frowned, a memory struggling to surface.

"Aye, it was poor craftsmanship," Gobber said, shaking his head. "Hiccup here is going to try again, aren't we?"

Hiccup gave a sheepish smile.

"What else are you making?"

Hiccup threw the two halves of the retired axe into the kiln. "Some rivets for the boats. Shouldn't take long."

"Can I-"

"Yes," Hiccup said, smiling at his friend.

Toothless grinned and sat on the basket that he'd used as a seat the other day.

"Just don' get in the way," Gobber ordered sternly.

"Yes sir," Toothless said, puffing his chest out and giving him a salute.

Hiccup laughed, constantly amazed by how human his former dragon friend was able to act. Hiccup had never saluted anyone, so Toothless must have seen someone else in the village do it. Come to think of it, where had he learned – Hiccup almost dropped the fire poker, his face almost as red as the embers on the coals.

"Oi! It's shoddy work like tha' that doomed the axe! Smarten up, Hiccup!" Gobber said. He huffed and shook his head in frustration.

"Uh, s-sorry, I just – right," Hiccup apologized sheepishly. He bit his lap and glanced over at Toothless, who was giving him a knowing look, like he could see inside his mind and was also reliving their time in the cove. Focus, Hiccup. Toothless gave him a sly grin and stretched like a huge cat, raising his arms into the air and arching his back. FOCUS.

While the metal melted in the kiln, they stopped for a twenty minute lunch break (some rooty vegetables with sheep instead of fish for a change) outside. Hiccup accepted a rag from Gobber and wiped the sweat from his face.

"Phew! It's always nice coming out here when it's so hot in there," Hiccup said in relief.

"Eat up, we've go' work to do yet," Gobber prompted. "We've go' the rivets to cool, and then some parts for dragon-riding."

Hiccup grinned proudly at Toothless. "All my design, of course," he admitted happily.

Toothless grinned back. "Any new ones for me, for when I change back?"

"Maaaaaybe," Hiccup teased, a twinkle in his eye.

For the rest of the afternoon Toothless managed to sit still and not cause any catastrophes in the workshop. The second Hiccup had been dismissed, and they were a few feet away from the shop, Toothless grabbed Hiccup's wrist and dragged him up the hill to Hiccup's house. They crashed in (Stoick wasn't home) and he dragged them to Hiccup's bedroom.

"Finally," Toothless growled out.

"What are you-Oof!"

Toothless threw Hiccup on his bed and then straddled him, grinning from ear to ear. He dipped his head down to Hiccup's neck and inhaled deeply. "You emit the nicest scent," he said, his voice almost too husky for coherency.

"Er, thanks?" Hiccup said, a little bit overwhelmed with the pace of things.

"You've been thinking about yesterday, haven't you?" Toothless darted his tongue out to lick at the bruises decorating the other boy's neck. He pulled Hiccup's soft ear lobe in between his teeth and sucked, making Hiccup groan. "I know you have, I saw your face,"

"I – I've been meaning to ask you," Hiccup tried to say, his voice slightly breathless. "Where – where did you learn-" He bit his lip, trying not to moan as Toothless shoved his hands beneath his tunic. He squirmed beneath Toothless, who gave an aggressive thrust of his hips down on Hiccup's growing arousal.

"I didn't," Toothless answered, equally breathless. "It just felt right," He leaned in and licked his way from Hiccup's jaw to his mouth and then kissed him, coaxing Hiccup's mouth open, dipping his tongue inside.

Hiccup moaned and squeezed his eyes shut. He really didn't know what he was doing, but everything – anything that Toothless did felt incredibly good. Felt right. And he couldn't stop now, not when there was no acceptable reason to.

There was a knock at the door, followed by, "Hiccup, you there?"

Toothless growled and collapsed on Hiccup. He exhaled in a loud huff, his breath ruffling Hiccup's hair.

Hiccup shot out of the bed and scrambled to adjust his clothing (and mentally kill his arousal). "Er, yeah? Astrid, is that you?"

"Can we talk?"

"No. Go away," Toothless growled.

"Ah, no, that was Toothless, not me!" Hiccup threw a glare at Toothless, who was lying stomach down on the bed, face buried in Hiccup's pillow. "I'll be out in a second!" Hiccup looked at the boy occupying his bed, hoping he wouldn't throw a fit at him leaving. "Just… stay here, yeah?" Hiccup could tell it was serious, whatever Astrid wanted, because she had never, ever, asked so nicely to speak with him. Hell, she never asked for anything.

Toothless grumbled something into the pillow and, without turning, waved a hand at Hiccup, acknowledging the request.

"Be back in a minute," promised Hiccup. He opened the door and stepped outside. The sun was setting. Hiccup's stomach grumbled, reminding him that it had needs too.

Astrid grabbed his arm and pulled him ten few paces away from the house, face set in an angry scowl. After a minute she suddenly stopped, whipping around to face him.

"What are you doing?"

"I-"

"No, Hiccup, what in Odin's name are you doing? This is – you're – he's your pet dragon for Thor's sake!"

"He's not just my pet, okay? He's always been more than that to me and-"

Astrid pushed her hands into the air, asking for silence. "Alright, sorry, I didn't mean that. I know how important he is to you," she snapped.

"Thanks," said Hiccup, trying to keep the amazement out of his voice. Astrid apologizing?

"So, what - are you in love with him or something?"

Hiccup's face screwed up in an expression a mix of confusion and frustration. "No! Not like that! I – I guess I've – why – why do we need to label this? It's not even permanent, he'll be back to normal soon and-"

"So he's still changing back then?"

"Well I don't think we can stop that exactly, so yeah! He is," said Hiccup in frustration, trying to ignore the sadness he felt at that truth. In all honesty there was a small part of him that wanted Toothless to forever remain as a human. A much larger part of him really just wanted his best friend back, in the form he'd fallen in like with. Yes, Hiccup loved Toothless, but obviously not in a romantic way. He loved and cherished their bond, a bond which would never meet its human equivalency.

"And how do you feel about that? Won't it be, I don't know – a bit awkward?" Astrid said, hissing out the last three words. Her eyes were wide, taking in every change in Hiccup's body language.

"How do you mean?"

Astrid cried out in frustration. "Duh, Hiccup! Won't he still want to – to – do that?!" She gestured at the love bites poking out above Hiccup's fur vest.

Hiccup made a sound of disgust. "What? No!"

Astrid cocked a hip and crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised in disbelief. "And how do you know? What if he attacks you one night, wanting to-"

Hiccup flailed his arms around, silencing her. "Ugh, just – no. No he won't, because it's only in human form that he's feeling like this. He said so. I think, you know, it's just the hormones amplifying our normally very strong platonic bond," he said, stressing 'platonic'. "He'll still have the memories, probably, but not the feelings." Odin help me if I'm wrong.

Astrid exhaled loudly, trying to accept Hiccup's words for the truth. After a moment she uncrossed her arms, resting both hands on her hips. "Fine. Well, then - what about you?"

Hiccup stared at her miserably, really not wanting to travel down this road. "You actually think I'll want to – to be intimatewith a giant reptile? With claws and – and bad breath and everything?"

Despite herself, Astrid smiled. She nervously pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "So – so I guess I'll just…" she broke off, staring at him, a little bit of rare insecurity leaking out of her eyes.

Hiccup sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Astrid, I like you. A lot."

Astrid's cheeks turned pink and she looked down at the ground. "I dunno, might be too dangerous to be with you. He's pretty possessive of you," she said lightly, nodding towards the cabin.

"Nah, he likes you too," Hiccup said. He frowned. "I think."

Astrid punched Hiccup's shoulder. "Gee, you know just what a girl wants to hear," she drawled, sarcasm soaking her words.

Hiccup gave her a silly grin. "I do my best."

Astrid lingered for a moment, hesitation written all over her face. Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"I'm trying to decide if I want to punch you or kiss you," she confessed, staring at him with serious eyes.

Hiccup closed his eyes and spread his arms from his side. "Go ahead and punch me, I deserve it," he admitted, filling the proclamation with all the guilt he felt.

A soft kiss landed on his left cheek. In its wake Hiccup's mouth twitched into a smile.

"You are the weirdest person I've ever known," she said, her voice sounding tiredly amused. And I wouldn't like you any other way. "You coming to dinner?"

Hiccup blinked his eyes open. "Thanks, Astrid," he said. He had the best Dad and the best friends in the world. Maybe even the twins would be tolerable today?

Astrid blushed and punched him in the arm, hard. "Don't get all mushy on me," she said, the blush giving her away.

Hiccup winced and rubbed his arm. "Toothless says you hit me too much. You know, I think he may be on to something there…"

Astrid rolled her eyes and punched him again (with about a fourth of her normal force). "Oh shut up," she teased. She ran back in the direction of the Dining Hall. "Dinner, Hiccup!"

"Yeah, I'll – I'll be right there!"

Hiccup went back inside his room, unable to keep the smile off his face. It was sad, but Hiccup kept thinking that at any minute, someone would wake him up, that this had all just been the product of an overactive brain. He certainly felt like he was in a dream. He flopped down on the bed, half-sprawled on top of Toothless, who groaned, the sound muffled by the pillow.

Toothless raised his head, his eyes sleepy. "Your scent can lull me to sleep," he said groggily. He pressed his check into the pillow.

Hiccup giggled into his friend's shoulder. "Dinner's on. You coming?"

Toothless shot up off the pillow, the mention of food an instant catalyst. Hiccup fell to the floor with an "oof!" and rubbed his head, pursing his lips at Toothless.

"Sorry," Toothless said with a grin. He put on his fur covering, pulled Hiccup up from the floor, and together they proceeded to the Dining Hall.

Hiccup glanced at his friend and could read the struggle in his body language. Impressed, Hiccup had never known Toothless to be shy about anything. He clearly wanted to know the context of his conversation with Astrid, but for some reason was holding his tongue.

Finally, just before entering the mess hall, Toothless turned to Hiccup. "She hit you again, didn't she," he said, somehow glancing directly at the sore spot on his friend's arm.

"Eh, it's just how she shows affection," replied Hiccup, smiling fondly.

"My way is better," Toothless said boldly.

"She does that too. Sometimes. Only just here," Hiccup tapped his cheek, "and sometimes here," he tapped his lips.

Toothless pressed himself flush to Hiccup. With a devilish smirk and a mischievous look in his eye, he pressed a hand on Hiccup's groin. "But never here," he said lowly.

Hiccup's eyelids fluttered and he swallowed. "Er, n-no. Not – not there,"

Toothless stepped back and shrugged. "Maybe I could write a book," he said playfully. "'How Humans Can Show Each Other Affection'. Or, 'The Mating Manual for Humans'. And you could draw the pictures!"

Hiccup stammered and blushed bright red. "You can draw just fine." He pushed open the doors and they entered the bustling eating space, hoping that there was still some food left for the late-comers.


	5. Day 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lemon in this chapter! Another friendly reminder, just in case you're stumbling across this fanfiction starting at this chapter, Toothless is a HUMAN, not a dragon.

With a promise from Toothless that there would be no more swimming, Hiccup agreed to work on the Dragon Manual sequel in the cove. It was a quiet, relatively private space that Hiccup liked to think belonged to them.

"It's too bad you can't talk to an older night fury," said Toothless dejectedly. "I'm really not that old for a dragon."

They chose to sit on the ground underneath the tree, where Toothless liked to sleep sometimes as a dragon. Hiccup opened the book to the middle, leafing through the entries filed under "N" until reaching their destination. He quickly sharpened a stick of charcoal. He scanned the notes already written below "Night Fury", which were of course mostly written by himself.

"That's okay. This is going to be amazing, whatever you say," Hiccup said, excitement bubbling into his voice.

"What've you got there already?" asked Toothless. He leaned close into Hiccup, their shoulders pressing together.

"Physical attributes – black scales with dark grey mixed in, green eyes, large ears, posterior and anterior wing sets. Personality traits – stealthy, intelligent, sensitive, highly emotional –ow, hey it's true!" Hiccup summarized, rubbing his shoulder. "Geez, my arm's gonna fall off!"

Toothless kissed his cheek to make up for punching him. "Keep going,"

"You're turning into Astrid," Hiccup mumbled, cheeks pink. He turned back to the book and kept reading. "Reclusive, so regarded by Vikings as the most dangerous species, agile flier-"

"The best flier," Toothless boasted, smirking. "Come on, add it," he demanded, nudging Hiccup's hand.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine." He rubbed the words with his shirt sleeve, smudging the charcoal until the words was gone, to be replaced with the apparently more accurate description. "Attacks by firing powerful plasma bolts. Percussive blow followed by a blue and white explosion – extremely flammable*," Hiccup continued. "I should know; you almost singed my eyebrows off, after our test flight."

"Actually, I don't know how the hell you survived that," Toothless chuckled.

"Wonders never seize with us," Hiccup said somewhat sarcastically.

"What else?"

Hiccup flipped the page. "Not too much – only that you're more cautious than most dragons. Hm, as for diet, I guess just fish. And sheep. Anything else?"

Toothless shrugged. "I like the odd dolphin or whale from time to time."

Hiccup's face scrunched up as he tried to decide between being disgusted and interested. "I've never tried either of those. We just use whale blubber and oils for lights and things like that. Some of the adults like it though, and fermented shark for some reason." Hiccup shuddered, a grimace on his face.

"Hm, never tried shark. Orca's pretty good. And tree bark. Sometimes I have to eat that to heal an upset stomach."

"Ah, I was wondering about that. Right, moving on," Hiccup continued. He recalled one time, about a month after the fall of Red Death, when Toothless had stripped of their bark nearly three mature black spruces. Hiccup, having assumed the dragon was a carnivore, had been confused at the anomaly but hadn't questioned it.

He blushed, a question sudden popping into his head. "Erm, when do night furies reach sexual maturity?"

Toothless seemed to think about his answer for a minute. "It depends. After about ninety-six full lunar cycles, I guess."

Hiccup's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Eight years?! I'm almost fifteen years old! That's – why is it so fast for you?"

Toothless shrugged. "It's all relative. I think for nadders it's seventy-two cycles."

"Wait, how old are you?"

"This'll be my... ninety-seventh cycle," he said after pausing to think on it.

Hiccup flipped back a few pages to the entry on deadly nadders and added their value. "Well I guess that explains your uh – actions towards me, then," Hiccup said, face red. At Toothless's inquisitive gaze, Hiccup explained. "Human males reach sexual maturity at around thirteen or fourteen. We get those…urges you were talking about. From what I can tell girls don't really experience that. Well, except for Ruffnut I guess. So both your dragon form and this human form, which I'm assuming was conjured at about fifteen years too, combined is like a double whammy."

"Makes sense," Toothless said, nodding. Suddenly, his eyes went wide and he froze. He put his hand on Hiccup's shoulder and leaned around him, his attention fixed behind Hiccup. "Shh, don't turn around," he whispered, finger on his lips.

"What is it?" Hiccup whispered back, voice almost non-existent.

"She's here," Toothless mouthed. Slowly, and with cat-like grace, Toothless crouched down on all fours and inched around Hiccup. "The night fury," he whispered.

Hiccup gasped quietly and, very slowly, craned his neck around to see.

Their visitor wasn't in the cove, but perched like a large bird on the upper rim, her large blue eyes peering down at them. Hiccup was suddenly wishing he had a raw fish to offer her; the method had been scientifically proven to lure night furies (and probably worked with pan-draconian effectiveness). Toothless inched forward, his eyes locked with the other night fury's. Making sure she was absorbed in watching Toothless, Hiccup slowly grabbed the notebook and stick of charcoal from the ground. He turned completely around and, hands trembling slightly, began sketching the dragon perched above their cove, eager to document the visible differences between the genders.

Toothless stopped at a point where it was comfortable to keep looking up at the night fury, and sat with his knees bent, resting on his heels. His eyes moved back and forth, following the swaying of the female's tail.

Curiousity luring her down, the night fury gracefully hopped into the cove, landing three feet from Toothless. Hiccup was impressed – Toothless hadn't made a sound, hadn't even flinched. He held himself still as a statue, a master of stealth.

Hiccup finished the sketch and slowly placed the notebook on the ground, content just to watch the intense staring contest. Hiccup wondered if, like their nadder had, the female night fury could sense the true nature of the boy in front of her. (Otherwise why would she be in their cove? It wasn't a particularly good hunting spot…)

Hiccup watched as Toothless closed his eyes, dipped his head down and stretched his arm out, palm open towards the night fury's head.

A perfect echo of what Hiccup had done, a year ago, before Toothless had placed his muzzle into his hand.

Hiccup thought he might cry at the beauty of it. Odin I am such a girl sometimes.

And, just as Toothless had done, the female night fury, eyes wide with curiousity, slowly moved forward to meet the outstretched palm. Her eyes fixed on Toothless, she gently nuzzled his hand. Hiccup saw a gentle tremble shake Toothless's shoulders and couldn't tell if it was from the strain of keeping his palm raised, or from the intensity of the moment. Hiccup himself was hardly daring to breathe.

The night fury sniffed and stepped back from the hand, eyes restlessly scanning the cove, her attention now roaming. Both Hiccup and Toothless exhaled out a shaky breath. Toothless turned to Hiccup, a stunning smile on his face.

"That was-"

"Incredible, I know," Hiccup agreed, finishing the breathless sentence.

"She's coming to you now," Toothless whispered.

Hiccup smiled at the night fury and felt as if he could now be a bit more relaxed, as if Toothless had broken the ice a bit. "Hi girl," he said gently. He slowly raised his hand to her, mimicking the gesture she had accepted from Toothless. Her eyes darted to Toothless and the other boy nodded. "I won't bite. He might," Hiccup nodded to Toothless, "but I won't."

Toothless rolled his eyes and moved to sit back down beside Hiccup.

The night fury lay down on the ground next to both of them, apparently content, leaving Hiccup's hand hovering above her. Her pupils were large and her body language communicated relaxation. Her eyes moved around the cove, following the contours in the rocks.

"How old do you think she is? D'you think she can understand me?" Hiccup asked Toothless, not taking his eyes off the night fury. Gently, he pressed his palm down on the top of her head. Her eyes darted back to Hiccup, pupils now slightly thinner, and huffed, nostrils flared. He immediately retracted his hand. She shifted over, closer to Toothless.

"Dunno, maybe the same age as me. And probably. I could. Well, mostly. You didn't really say much that first day," he answered. He smiled down at her and placed a palm on her head. She closed her eyes and rested her chin on her folded arms, content.

Hiccup snorted. "Looks like Astrid won't have to be worried anymore," he muttered.

Toothless smirked. "Jealous?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "As if," Hiccup immediately stifled the surge of jealousy he'd been feeling for the past thirty seconds. "Do you think she knows about you?"

"She will in three days," he said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

Hiccup made a fake retching noise. "Do not tell me the details," he moaned, covering his ears.

The night fury opened her eyes and looked between Hiccup and Toothless, squinting, looking like she was trying to process what they were saying. She nudged her head up into Toothless's hand and grunted. She nodded towards Hiccup and grunted again.

Toothless smiled and gave her head a little pat. "Don't worry. He's only my mate for now," he told her.

Hiccup broke the Viking record for reddest face in history. "Gah! Toothless! Don't tell her that!" he hissed. "Unbelievable," he muttered. He turned desperately to the female night fury. "Don't listen to this kid, he's crazy. He's actually really a night fury himself, but then a random sorceress came here and granted him a wish for one week, which was to turn human, and then, since we're best friends, he started – started very physically showing his affection for me, but-"

Laughing, Toothless cut him off. "Now who sounds like the crazy one?"

The night fury huffed again and got up. She stretched her wings and trotted to the wall of the cove.

"Oh great, you made her jealous. Now you're the one destroying my chances. Thanks a lot, Hiccup," Toothless said, throwing a pebble at Hiccup's head.

The night fury hopped up onto a rock ledge near the cove wall, then hopped up onto the rim, out of the cove. She flapped her wings once, getting ready to take off. With a burst of speed, the night fury ascended.

"I'll miss you!" Toothless shouted after her. He gave a sigh, which bordered on sarcastic and genuinely happy (Hiccup could no longer tell) and smiled. "I wonder if she lives on that little island?" he wondered aloud.

Hiccup shrugged. "Probably the best place to start, yeah."

Toothless grabbed the Dragon Manual from the ground and flipped open to the newly added sketch labelled 'Night Fury: Female'. "Nicely done," he said, impressed. He handed the book back to Hiccup. "Anything else so far?"

"Hm, I don't think so…" Hiccup said, scanning the notes. "Oh, right, haha, yes – I noted that you have an affinity for grass," – Toothless blushed at this comment – "and that there's a pressure point in your neck that, when pressed, triggers unconsciousness."

Toothless recalled the memory and gasped in mock anger. "That is such a dirty trick!"

Hiccup laughed. "It works on nadders too! I tried it in the ring once, right after I discovered it with you."

Toothless pounced on Hiccup, grabbing his wrists and straddling his hips, effectively pinning him. "And does it work on mischievous little humans, too?" He let go of Hiccup's wrists to start experimentally groping Hiccup's neck, fingers giving and lifting pressure in different places.

Hiccup squirmed beneath Toothless, breath already shortening from excitement. He bit his lip, feeling his face go red. Toothless was sitting right on his groin, and his fingers were pressing on his bruised neck, which felt stupidly good instead of painful.

"I – I've never tried it before," Hiccup admitted slightly breathlessly. He stretched his neck away from Toothless's searching fingers. Toothless growled at the exposed flesh and leaned down to lick over all the love bites, ending to suck on his earlobe.

"Hiccup," Toothless whispered urgently into his ear. "I… I want to mate with you, before I … before I change back," he panted. He kissed around the shell of Hiccup's ear, breathing hard. He started grinding his hips into Hiccup, getting worked up with desire.

Toothless heard Hiccup swallow nervously, felt the rise of his chest as he inhaled deeply, felt the answering fall of the exhale. He didn't say anything and Toothless felt a flutter of nerves in his stomach, felt that maybe – maybe he had gone too far this time, and what he'd suggested to his human had been terribly wrong, and that maybe he really should get off of him -

Hiccup moved his arms to hug Toothless tightly to him, preventing his escape. He pushed his face into the other boy's neck and inhaled deeply, drinking in his scent.

"I know you can't – produce offspring from it, that's not why I asked, I just-"

"I know," Hiccup muttered. He pressed a small kiss behind Toothless's ear.

Toothless moved to lean on his elbows and gazed down at Hiccup, eyes wide and so very green.

"Really?" Hiccup whispered up at him. "You really want to… with me?"

Toothless nodded rapidly, eyes wide and filled with sincerity.

Hiccup looked away and chewed at his lip. He let his hands fall from the other boy's back, letting them hit the ground. He sighed. "I'm not sure I know how," he confessed in a small voice.

Toothless laughed and kissed him on the mouth. "We'll figure it out."

Hiccup worried his bottom lip. "When… when do you want to – I mean – maybe we should go back and… later," he finished quietly.

The other boy rose off of Hiccup, eyes drifting away for a moment. "Yeah, sure," he muttered, tone falling a bit flat. Awkward. It was awkward now. Toothless had been silently observing the body language of his companion for a year and knew with all certainty he'd made the other boy feel extremely uncomfortable. It had been a horrible decision – he'd ruined their relationship forever – stupid!

"Toothless, look at me," Hiccup demanded. He grasped the other boy's chin, forcing their eyes to meet, trying to stop the internal war from escalating.

"I just… I need some time okay?" Hiccup whispered.

"A day is left…"

"Tomorrow," Hiccup confirmed with a gentle smile. After that, experiencing any level of intimacy with his companion would be highly impossible, for many good reasons. Hiccup tried to conceal a shudder from the mere thought. He let his hand fall from the other boy's chin and stood up.

"Besides, I can hear your stomach grumbling. Must be lunch time," Hiccup said, smirking down at his friend.

Toothless rolled his eyes and accepted Hiccup's hand, joining him in standing. Hiccup collected the book and charcoal writing sticks and together they made their way back to the village. The remainder of their afternoon was spent quelling Toothless's seemingly endless appetite and satisfying Fishlegs' equally endless curiousity about the female Night Fury, and the updated Dragon Manual entry. Hiccup had always admired Fishlegs' enthusiasm for knowledge.

Hiccup had tried throughout the day to ignore Toothless's less than hidden glances, large green eyes revealing all emotions and thoughts about their earlier conversation, and what Hiccup had indirectly agreed to do with him the following day. If he was honest with himself, Hiccup was extremely nervous about going that final, irreversible step with his friend. His best friend. When they had fooled around in the cove, and he had achieved previously unexplored emotions and physical pleasure, it had felt good. More than good – perfect. His bond with Toothless had grown, but Hiccup was scared about what their relationship would become after they…

Regardless of what Hiccup had earlier explained to Astrid, there was a small part of Hiccup that worried about the nature of his relationship dynamic with Toothless once the enchantment wore off. Hiccup sighed. Everything seemed so much simpler when Toothless opened the subject. But Hiccup couldn't help but over-think it. That was his worst quality. Then again, having sex with your best friend, who spends most of the time as your companion dragon, was probably the most serious and legitimately over-thinkable thing to ever happen to Hiccup.

And he had agreed to do it, hadn't he? He hadn't explicitly said yes, but neither had he clearly said no. Yes Hiccup was nervous – what if he was terrible at it? His only experience had been what they'd done the other day, and his friend had seemed to enjoy what he'd given. Granted Toothless was also inexperienced. Instincts were always the best teachers weren't they?

Hiccup was also excited… he'd always loved exploring new areas of life after all. And who better to breach such a life experience than with Toothless, his most trusted life companion? Obviously this was something that Toothless very much desired, and to deny him that could possibly damage their bond more than could any lack of experience from either party.

"…cup, you alive in there?"

His internal debate dissipated as he was gently shoved back to reality. He shook the thoughts out of his head and cleared his throat. "Sorry Toothless, was a bit lost in thought."

Toothless frowned, worry furrowing his eyebrows. "About what I asked you in the cove?"

Hiccup cleared his throat again, suddenly feeling too warm. "Maybe…" he admitted quietly.

Toothless darted up from the floor to sit beside Hiccup on his bed, where he could see him better in the dim lighting of the candle-lit room. Toothless took a second to process Hiccup's body language. Nervous, edgy, anxious – same as nervous? His stomach curled unpleasantly as he realized that he had placed his best friend in a terribly uncomfortable position.

Toothless sighed and bowed his head, almost leaning in to Hiccup's shoulder. "I'm sorry…" he mumbled. "Forget I suggested it."

Hiccup licked his suddenly dry lips. He could feel his heart beating faster and he realized that now was the right moment – if it was going to happen, this was it. He no longer wanted to wait until the next day. There was no turning back. He wanted this. They both did, and damnit Hiccup, just –

Hiccup lifted the other boy's face up and pressed a gentle but affirming kiss on his lips. He held it for a moment, just allowing the absolutely peaceful sensation to spread throughout his entire being.

Their lips parted, the gap replaced with soft, slightly rushed breathing.

Toothless leaned forward into Hiccup, kissing him harshly, darting his tongue inside, panting through his nose, the mood suddenly shifting.

"Will anyone hear us?" Toothless whispered against Hiccup's mouth. He slid his hands beneath Hiccup's shirt, gliding his palms against the soft, warm skin.

"Not… not unless we're loud," Hiccup answered, face red. He had been given the workshop since his apprenticeship with Gobber had began, his Father staying in the neighbouring building. "I think he's still at the Great Hall," Hiccup mumbled, speaking of Stoick.

They lay there, both breathing slightly harder, flushed faces in shadowy contrast with the candle light. Neither knew how to move forward. The mood was almost too heavy. Hiccup brought his hands up and hugged the other boy close to him, sighing as black hair filled peripheral vision. He felt Toothless shifting slightly restlessly against him, probably anxious to progress.

A bubble of laughter erupted from Hiccup and all of a sudden there was nothing to think about. The butterflies died in his stomach and he squeezed his friend, hugging him as close as possible. This was easy. Instinctual. Too much effort to over-think it anymore.

Toothless rose up and peered down at Hiccup with a questioning gaze. Hiccup was beaming up at him, eyes practically glowing in the candle light. Toothless answered with a mirroring smile. "Okay, I wasn't sure if you wanted to… but now I know," he whispered.

Hiccup nodded and pulled Toothless's face down to his, capturing his lips. "Yeah… I kind of just… told my mind to be quiet," he whispered against the other boy's mouth.

"Is that a bad thing?" Toothless murmured into Hiccup's cheek, nuzzling him softly, making his way to bite an earlobe.

"No," Hiccup replied. He shuddered as he felt teeth clamp down on his sensitive earlobe. Pleasure hummed through him, his ear the epicenter.

Toothless smirked and switched to the other side, attending to the other earlobe. He was rewarded with another shudder from Hiccup, followed by a light moan. While with his lips he kissed Hiccup's neck, with his hands he tugged at Hiccup's shirt. Hiccup, panting slightly, took the hint and shed the tunic. The other boy copied him. Both of them being naked from the waist up seemed to spark a flame of desire in Hiccup and he roughly grabbed at Toothless's hair, shoving their lips together. Toothless opened his mouth to accept Hiccup's tongue, moaning around the hot muscle.

Hiccup could feel a growing hardness dig into his thigh, so close to his own erection. He groaned into Toothless's mouth and bucked his hips up, rubbing their erections together.

Toothless broke away from the kiss and released a breathy laugh. "Ooooh I am going to miss this sensitive body," he moaned, pressing back into the boy beneath him.

Hiccup groaned and boldly wrapped his legs around Toothless's thighs, pressing him close. Toothless's eyes fluttered shut and he groaned loudly, the delicious friction make his groin throb with pleasure. Their bodies were so close and it was so hot and with every movement, every thrust from below, he felt like his control was slipping a little bit more and –

With a loud moan Toothless came, his hips jerking against Hiccup's, who below him tried to steady his breathing.

"Ah, s-sorry, I didn't mean – uh…" Hiccup said awkwardly. He let his legs fall to either side of Toothless.

Toothless collapsed, face buried in Hiccup's flushed neck. A shudder rippled through his body and he growled a moan into Hiccups' ear, nipping at the lobe. "Still… hard," he panted.

To prove his point Toothless ground his groin into Hiccup's, whose eyes widened slightly.

"Turn around," Toothless growled. He restlessly rubbed himself against the other boy, desperate for friction, for all of Hiccup. He wanted, he needed him in every way. His heart was racing and his mind felt like it was overdrive. He hoped Hiccup was feeling the same way, and from the looks of his flushed face and bright eyes, he was.

Hiccup bit his lip. "W-wait, just let me get something." He scrambled off the bed to this desk and plucked a small bottle from the corner. "I use it to loosen up metal joints. Should make things easier," he said, blushing bright red. He never imagined he'd be using his workshop materials for anything other than lubricating metal parts. Never again would he be able to think of the bottle of viscous fluid in the same way.

Toothless practically pulled Hiccup back onto the bed in his haste to get his hands back on his skin. With hands shaking from nerves and excitement both boys removed the rest of their clothing. Toothless let his instincts completely take over and positioned Hiccup; Hiccup was on all fours, Toothless behind him on his knees. Toothless took a minute to groan at the completely enticing view.

Hiccup tried to shut his mind up again and calm his nerves and passed the small glass jar behind him to Toothless. It's okay, calm down, you want this. He wants this. It'll be fine.

Toothless studied the jar, unclear for a moment as to its purpose. It dawned on him just as he opened his mouth to ask Hiccup. His hands shook from anticipation and he barely had enough patience to spare to cover his cock with the oil. Briefly he registered that whatever it was smelled really good. Whale? No – not important!

Hands still coated in lubricant, Toothless let his hands explore Hiccup's ass, fully taking advantage of an opportunity surely to never come again. Hiccup made an embarrassed sound and dipped his head into his forearms, amazed at how good everything felt. Toothless's hands were impossibly warm and, combined with the oils, it was like the most intimate of massages. His suddenly heavy eyelids fall shut and his chest fell slightly forward, his back arching, giving Toothless more access. Toothless responded with an appreciative growl and more roughly massaged Hiccup's rear. Hiccup gave a shaky gasp and moaned when he felt two fingers experimentally dip into his asshole. It was unbelievably arousing and without thinking he pushed back into the fingers, forcing them to open him up a little bit more. The combination of the heat, the oils and how relaxed Hiccup felt allowed the fingers to sink in up to the knuckles.

Toothless groaned and leaned forward into Hiccup, shoving his fingers in a bit farther, stretching the other boy. "You're so ready," he moaned. He bit and nipped at Hiccup's back and experimentally pulled the fingers out, then shoved them back in, gaining more depth.

Hiccup jolted and cried out, the strangest pleasure shuddering through his entire body. The hairs on his arms raised and he choked out a moan. "What…" he breathed. Why does this feel so good?!

"Tooh… Toothless, please," Hiccup moaned. He pressed back into Toothless, searching blindly for the boy's erection. He had the strangest desire to be filled completely. His asshole pulsated from the finger play.

Toothless withdrew his fingers and quickly filled the gap with his glistening cock. Immediately he felt as if he could cum, and he wasn't even in all the way. Hiccup let out a choked breath, his hips jerking away from Toothless, away from the foreign discomfort. He tried to relax again, to breathe normally. He felt pain at his hips and realized it must be Toothless gripping him, trying to regain control for his sake. He heard Toothless's rapid shallow breathing.

"H-Hiccup," Toothless moaned and swallowed loudly, "I… can I…"

Hiccup nodded, giving Toothless permission to move. He groaned, half in pain and half in anticipation, harshly gripping his thin bed sheet. Maybe it would feel better when…

Toothless slowly pulled out of Hiccup, then rolled his hips forward, his cock squeezing back in. A low growl emanated from his chest and he gripped Hiccup's hips. He would never again feel something that would even remotely compare to this, not ever, Toothless decided. He was seeing stars in his vision. His thighs were trembling and he tried to keep his eyes open but gave up after about two seconds.

Hiccup choked again and bit on his forearm. Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes and he prayed for the discomfort to be replaced with the sensation he'd felt when Toothless had fingered him. He opened his mouth to ask Toothless to stop for a second, but instead a moan fell out. He shuddered and let out a long groan as Toothless hit that spot inside of him, the spot from before, whatever it was – he didn't care as long as he kept hitting it.

Toothless fell forward again, biting and licking any skin he could. He moved faster and faster, hips rolling and shuddering and bucking against Hiccup. All thoughts vanished from his mind, carnal desire having completely taken over. One of his hands lowered to embrace Hiccup's hot erection, earning him a moan from below.

"God… yes, so – so goooood," Toothless moaned into Hiccups' neck, thrusting on every word. "Let's just not – not go to sleep," he panted. "Just do - this - all night."

Hiccup couldn't form a coherent answer. He thrust his hips backwards, demanding more of Toothless, who was already buried as deep as possible inside of him. The hand on his cock gripped him harder, squeezing and -

Without warning, Hiccup's orgasm hit and his vision went white. His hips jerked and he fell forward, mouth open as he gasped for any air he could take. Toothless's hands lifted his chest back up, regaining the rhythm.

"Almost…" Toothless said through his clenched teeth. He pulled Hiccup up, back pressed to his chest, fucking him from underneath. Hiccup came back to him, letting out a moan and pressing into him. After a few more thrusts the rhythm broke. Toothless bit down hard on Hiccup's neck and with a bed-moving shudder, climaxed for the second time.

Pressed together they both rediscovered how to breathe. A tired chuckle escaped from Toothless, and then Hiccup, and then they were both giggling, the endorphins kicking in.

"Gonna get off you now," Hiccup said. Hiccup grimaced as he rose up and off of Toothless because of the now uncomfortable throbbing in his backside. "Well that's highly uncomfortable."

"Oh, I'd say it's highly enticing," Toothless argued. "You might want to clean yourself up a bit," he said, smirking.

Hiccup grimaced again and squirmed, feeling something warm drip out of him. He shuddered. Toothless tried to look hurt, but the big smirk gave him away. Hiccup snorted and lightly shoved the other boy. Weak from their activities Toothless just let himself fall over onto the bed, his body slumping. A big yawn escaped him before he could stop it.

The corners of Hiccup's mouth twitched into a grin. "Be back in a minute." He left the bed to find a clean cloth and some water. After a few minutes he came back, only to find Toothless practically asleep. Hiccup smiled and poked his still naked friend.

"You're going to freeze like that. Move so I can pull the blankets up."

Toothless mumbled something and opened his eyes, bleary from sleep. He heaved his body upwards just enough for Hiccup to extract the blankets.

"… was nice," Toothless sighed.

Hiccup smiled again. "Unexpectedly so." He pulled Toothless down to lie beside him, snuggling up to him for warmth. That was another thing he'd miss; the extra source of body heat.

Toothless nipped softly at Hiccup's nose, then pressed a kiss to Hiccup's lips. He started to draw away, but Hiccup curled his fingers in the raven's hair. After a long moment he broke away. "Good night, Toothless," he whispered. Hiccup knew his face would be sore in the morning – he usually didn't fall asleep smiling.


	6. Day 6

Morning was composed of freezing cold temperatures and a nice, violent snow storm. Not normally the best conditions to wake up naked, but fortunately Hiccup was kept warm with the extra body heat from Toothless. Seeking optimal warmth he buried his face in Toothless's chest and hugged the blankets closer. Toothless mumbled something and hugged Hiccup to him.

"… morning already?" muttered Toothless through a yawn.

"Sadly, yes," Hiccup mumbled back.

"What do you have to do today?"

Hiccup shrugged. He didn't know, nor did he care. "It's your last day as a human. Everything else can wait until tomorrow."

Toothless hugged the other boy even closer and nuzzled his head.

"Don't crush me," Hiccup grunted. He squirmed a bit until Toothless loosened the embrace. "Mm… let's just stay in bed."

"Nah, I'm hungry!" And with perfect timing Toothless's stomach growled, confirming what its owner had just announced. He pushed back the blankets, earning a cry from Hiccup at the sudden exposure to the cold, and scavenged the floor for his clothes.

"Gah, I'm a mess," Toothless said, looking down at himself. "Uh, maybe a bath?"

Hiccup blushed. "Good idea." He also needed to wash up; the consequences of the previous night's activities had left certain parts of his skin very uncomfortable.

It took about thirty minutes for Hiccup to collect and heat up enough water to clean them both. During that time Toothless had paced the room, impatient for both the bath and breakfast. From sheer will he avoided voicing his impatience. After another ten minutes they were sufficiently clean and clothed to run to the Great Hall to quell their appetites. The journey from Hiccup's shed to the Hall had made them extremely appreciative of the many giant fires lit in the expansive space. Shivering and covered in snow, they both huddled next to a fire until warm enough to get food.

"Let's go sit with Astrid," Hiccup suggested, already moving in that direction.

Toothless bit his lip to keep from voicing his response and followed his companion. If that girl tried to steal Hiccup away from him on his last day of humanity, then he was going to – to blow something up. He didn't know what, but explosions were a certainty.

"Morning Astrid," Hiccup greeted, smiling at his friend. She was about halfway through her breakfast. Hiccup noticed a book open at her side, and was surprised to see it was the Dragon Manual's sequel.

"Hiccup, Toothless," she said, nodding to them each.

Toothless merely grunted in response. Hiccup elbowed him in the side. "Hey," he tried again.

"So you saw the female again?" Astrid asked, pointing at the newly added sketch in the Night Fury section. "When?"

"Yesterday in the cove she visited us while I was interviewing Toothless," Hiccup explained. "She's really cool."

"Who's really cool?"

Hiccup groaned aloud and tried to smile in greeting to the twins.

"The female night fury from before," Astrid replied, showing them the drawing.

The twins stole a seat on either side of Astrid, peering at Toothless, each wearing a matching smirk. "Fine pickings for your first then, eh Toothless?"

"Guys! What the heck?" Hiccup shrieked, mortified. "That's none of your business!"

Astrid rolled her eyes and punched Tuffnut in the arm.

Toothless pursed his lips and shot them both a death glare. "No, it's not your business, and even if it was, she's not going to be my first."

Hiccup nearly had a heart failure from the mortification. Before he could even think to pretend Toothless was talking of an experience with another night fury, his head fell, forehead smacking the wooden table. He could not believe Toothless had just admitted to his closest friends what they had done the night before. The whole table fell deathly silent. Hiccup was afraid to even look at their reactions. He wanted the sea to just come and flood the entire island, swallowing him and taking him away from Berk and all who knew him when it retreated.

"Oh - crap, Hiccup, uh, sorry…" Toothless awkwardly apologized.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Tuffnut and Ruffnut shouted.

"Hiccup?" someone said.

"I think you killed him," someone else said.

"NO – NO HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!"

"RUFFNUT I SWEAR TO ODIN-"

A warm hand grasped Hiccup's upper arm and he shoved it away, tears of embarrassment pricking the corners of his eyes. It was supposed to have been private, wasn't it? Wasn't that the normal thing to do, keep something so intimate and – and special private from the others? Maybe it had been wrong of Hiccup to assume that of Toothless. In the last few days Hiccup should have gathered that secrets meant nothing to his boisterous friend. The fading hickey on his neck should have proved to Hiccup that for Toothless it was all about marking territory and displaying evidence.

"The only reason I haven't run away," Hiccup muttered into the table, "is because there's a storm raging outside." He weakly raised his head and peered at Toothless through cloudy eyes. Toothless had the sense to look extremely guilty.

"I – I didn't know you would react like that if they knew," he mumbled, eyes downcast.

"Yeah well I guess I should have just asked you not to go announcing it to everyone," Hiccup snapped. He still couldn't look at Astrid. He wasn't even sure if the girl was still sitting across from him. He sighed and dipped his head into his hands, threading his fingers through his hair.

After a minute of intense silence, Hiccup heard Astrid sigh and rise from the table. She walked around to Hiccup's side. "Come on, we need to talk."

Hiccup didn't budge. Apparently he didn't have to – he heard a reluctant "Fine" and felt the heat from beside him disappear. He raised his head and, with a sinking feeling, realized he was now alone with the twins. Oh dear God.

"Thor save me," he moaned into his hands. Slowly, he peaked through is fingers at the twins, who were both staring openly at him, mouths agape.

Hiccup snorted. "You guys look ridiculous."

They spluttered to life and immediately released an onslaught of questions, verbally tripping over each other in their eagerness to harass him. Hiccup searched the Great Hall for Astrid and Toothless, knowing they wouldn't have chanced going outside, and found them huddled close together in a far corner with a candle. Neither of them seemed too uncomfortable, which made Hiccup both glad and extremely curious. Hiccup had expected Astrid to punch the human out of Toothless, resulting in an early transformation home.

"How-" Tuffnut.

"What did it feel like?!" Ruffnut.

"WHAT?!" Tuffnut.

"Did it hurt?!" Ruffnut.

Hiccup sighed explosively in irritation and turned back to the ravenously inquisitive twins. "I'm just going to answer all of your questions in advance with this: No Comment."

"Come on, over here," Astrid directed, gesturing Toothless to the dimly lit corner. They were sufficiently far away that there were no eavesdroppers.

Toothless avoided her gaze. He fidgeted with the hem of his tunic. She stood with her arms crossed, a finger tapping rapidly against her arm.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to be like those two idiots and attack you with questions," she began sternly. "I can tell Hiccup is fine."

Toothless nodded aggressively. "I would never, ever hurt him." Unlike you, with all your damned punches. Seriously what the hell.

Astrid sighed and uncrossed her arms. "I know."

She was silent for a moment, her lips working around a question. Toothless waited patiently, fighting the urge to go rescue Hiccup from the unrelenting twins. The brunette looked extremely uncomfortable, and the twins were practically shouting at him. Some of the other older Vikings in the vicinity were shooting them curious glances.

"Can I just ask one thing?"

Toothless turned his attention back to the blonde. "Go for it." Doesn't mean I'll answer you, though.

"Was it worth it?"

Toothless raised an eyebrow and didn't hesitate on an answer. "What kind of question was that? Of course it was."

Astrid nodded and despite herself, looked a bit uncomfortable. "What's going to happen after? I mean – when you become a dragon again, what are you two-"

Her questions died on her tongue from the incredulous look Toothless was giving her. She already had her answer then, because it was exact same expression Hiccup had answered with the other day.

She raised both her palms in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, okay, I get it. That's a stupid question, never mind."

"Yeah it's stupid," Toothless snapped. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and summoned some patience. "Look, I love Hiccup alright? And I know you do too. In some strange way."

Astrid blinked rapidly, caught off guard, her cheeks flushing red. "W-well, I…" I haven't really thought about something like that…

Toothless shrugged. "Doesn't matter what you think. I can tell you do," he said bluntly. "This…thing with Hiccup," he continued, hands searching for his words in the air, "I don't know. It just feels right, and I'm just glad I had the chance to be so close to him for even a little bit. I know it obviously can't go past today, and I won't want it to. Obviously neither will he."

Astrid snorted. "I mean I know he's weird but, I hope so too."

Toothless barked out a laugh and lightly shoved at Astrid. "Don't joke about that!"

They both glanced back to the table and noticed that Stoick had now joined them, an unreadable expression on his face. Hiccup turned pleading eyes to the both of them.

Astrid sighed. "We'd better go rescue him."

"I'm glad we got the chance properly to talk," Toothless admitted as they walked back over. And it was true, he really had been glad to properly meet his companion's future mate, because like it or not, it was bound to happen eventually.

Astrid paused and gently laid a hand on Toothless's arm. "So you won't, you know, freak out when I take over? With Hiccup?" Her face was bright red at the end of her question.

Toothless gave her a slightly menacing toothy grin. "Only if you hurt him. And that includes continuously punching him."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, its how I show affection!"

"Kissing is better," Toothless stated. "And besides, I have other prospects lined up," he added, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at Astrid. She punched him in the shoulder.

They made it back to the table. Hiccup's face, it seemed, was now permanently red. There was a general aura of discomfort permeating from the table, at which the twins and Stoick still sat. A sick feeling sunk Toothless's gut. Astrid cleared her throat, grabbed the Dragon Manual 2.0 and quickly escaped the Dining Hall, choosing to brave the storm rather than the current company. For once in his life, Toothless wished he could follow Astrid.

"Eh…" Toothless said awkwardly.

"Well, I think we're done here, right Tuffnut?" Ruffnut stated loudly. She hastily gathered their dishes and made to leave.

Ruffnut yanked on her brother's hair and they both escaped the table. She then had the decency to quickly apologize to both Toothless and Hiccup for their "indecent behaviour, even though all they'd done was ask questions about the real indecent behaviour". Toothless's reply was a loud growl and a snap of his teeth.

Stoick cleared his throat loudly.

Toothless glanced at Hiccup, who was apparently trying to remain as still as possible, because then maybe he would disappear. Toothless wanted to laugh, but decided now was not the right moment. Learning from before, he was just not going to say anything even remotely close to anything to do with him and Hiccup, because he wasn't sure how much Hiccup's Father knew.

"So then," Toothless began awkwardly, "what uh, what's the plan for today, Stoick?"

Hiccup gave up and his posture slumped. "He already knows," he moaned in a defeated tone. He buried his face in his hands. "He overheard the twins asking me stuff and figured it out."

Toothless's eyes widened. Stoick opened his mouth to say something, but Toothless cut him off. He sighed explosively and slammed both hands on the table top, making the others both jump.

"Look," he said aggressively, "I've already been interrogated by those damned twins, and Astrid, and okay, I get it – what we did was weird to you for some reason, but I don't care, and it was worth it, and I love Hiccup, and NO I'm not going to feel that way about him when I change back, because that would be – just – no, but – just – ugh!" Sheer frustration and lack of oxygen cut his words short.

He heard a small gasp from across the table. Hiccup was looking at him with wide, shiny eyes. "You… you love me?"

Toothless grinned and shrugged. "Of course I love you. Without you I can't be myself. Obviously there's the flying bit, but… it's much more than that. And I'm really glad I got this chance to tell you."

"Toothless… I… thank you," Hiccup said, mouth twitching into a wide smile. "I love you too."

"And I think, in some way, Astrid loves you too. Even though she'll probably never admit it out loud," Toothless said. His eyes widened and he added, "But don't tell her I said that. I don't have a death wish."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and laughed. "I suppose not. Thanks."

Stoick clapped his hands and rose from the table. "Well! I'm glad that's settled!"

Hiccup turned to the Chief in slight disbelief, having expected a full-out interrogation period. He supposed Toothless had effectively diffused that, with his strong outburst. And Hiccup was more than happy to get on another conversation track. "Wait, Dad, what are we doing today? Does Gobber need me?"

Stoick glanced at Toothless (who was avoiding his gaze) and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "I know it's… his last day," he said, nodding to Toothless, "so, don't worry about that, son. Not much we can do in the storm anyway." And with one last slightly strained glance at Hiccup, Stoick left their table.

Hiccup blew out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, laughing in relief. "That had to be the most embarrassing moment of my life. I actually almost died of blood loss because it was all in my face."

Toothless came around to sit beside Hiccup, pulling him into a hug. He nuzzled his face into the brown hair. "He's becoming a lot more relaxed about a lot of things."

Hiccup snorted. He turned desperate eyes to Toothless. "Why did you leave me?" he groaned. "Was Astrid really interrogating you?"

Toothless shrugged. "Yeah, though in a much nicer way than the twins. She asked me if it was worth it, and I said why the hell wouldn't it have been, and then I agreed not to kill her if she mated with you – Ow!" Toothless cried out, rubbing his arm where Hiccup had punched him. He laughed. "Okay, okay, didn't mean that. But… I think we broke off at an understanding. Which is good."

"Did she seem… uncomfortable with what we did?"

Toothless thought for a moment and shrugged again. "I don't think so… Maybe in the beginning, like your Dad was. Then I told her the same thing I told Stoick, and she seemed to accept that things won't be the same between us as they are right now. Though she had her doubts."

"What?!" Hiccup protested.

Toothless laughed and pulled him close again. "She was joking!" He waited a beat. "I think."

"So what's the plan then, for my last day?" Toothless inquired.

Hiccup sighed and shrugged. "I dunno. Not much to do outside, what with the storm trying to eat Berk."

"We could have fun in your bed again," Toothless whispered suggestively into his ear, following it with a kiss to the lobe.

Hiccup spluttered for words, face beet red.

Toothless took pity on him and laughed loudly. "Calm down! We'll do that later!"

Loud, rapid clapping came from behind them, and then a shriek and a large blur. Fishlegs came hobbling over to them, his face split into a large grin. "Eeeeeep! I'm so happy for you both!"

"Wha-" Hiccup started. He was then enveloped by Fishlegs, whose hugs normally swallowed Hiccup. Toothless gave a startled shout as he was yanked in to the embrace.

"You guys are so adorable! Confessions of love and everything!"

He let them go after they started warning of their imminent suffocation.

"Y-yeah, thanks, Fishlegs," Hiccup said, clearing his throat and massaging his arms back to life. "And, wait, what do you mean everything?"

Fishlegs turned beet red and fidgeted with his hands, looking down and away from them. Toothless quirked an eyebrow and Hiccup sighed, knowing the answer. "You heard what the twins were asking didn't you?"

Fishlegs nodded. "But – but I think it's great! I mean, if you love someone, you should be able to show them, right?" He said excitedly, beaming at both of them.

Toothless barked a laugh and swung his arm around Fishlegs (as best he could). "I've always liked this one!"

For lack of better options they both decided to just remain in the Great Hall with Fishlegs for a bit to make last minute additions to the Night Fury section in the Dragon Manual, indulge in more food, and just talk to each other. They wanted to exhaust all avenues of conversation before the usual less verbal form of communication took over again. As well, there were many last minute questions from Vikings for Toothless, covering a variety of topics of dragon life style. Some Toothless was able to answer, many he wasn't, mainly because they were so specific and didn't relate to night furies.

As well, Fishlegs had asked in all seriousness about the experience Hiccup and Toothless had shared the night before. Hiccup wasn't surprised Fishlegs wanted to know; for one thing, he was just naturally curious about everything, and two, (Hiccup had always had his suspicious about this) Fishlegs was less inclined to female company and genuinely wanted to know about how two males could engage in such activities. So, because Hiccup admired and trusted Fishlegs with the information, they agreed to divulge him. Which meant Toothless eventually took pity on an embarrassed, stuttering Hiccup and quite bluntly took over. By the time he was finished both Fishlegs and Hiccup were bright red.

"So… so that's how… okay," Fishlegs muttered. Both boys could see him actively logging away the information for a later date. "So I guess it hurt then?"

Toothless glanced at Hiccup, anxious for the answer. He'd suspected Hiccup would be sore afterward. Hell, anyone would. But had he actually caused Hiccup pain? It hadn't looked like he'd been suffering…

"Eh, um," Hiccup started. He sighed and decided honesty was better than saving Toothless's feelings. "Yeah, quite a bit in the beginning."

"Why didn't say anything?!" Toothless demanded, naked concern in his eyes.

"Because it got better!" Hiccup rebutted. "No really, it did. It was amazing," he pressed, smiling at the memory.

Toothless relaxed and exhaled loudly. "Well good. 'Cuz it didn't hurt at all for me."

Fishlegs' earlier look of panic was replaced with a thoughtful expression. "Thanks guys. I know it was hard to explain all that."

Hiccup shrugged. "Not as hard as when the twins were harassing me earlier. I hope you find someone soon to share the experience with," he said, smiling.

"Speaking of the twins, I think they're going to throw you guys some kind of apology party doubled as a going away party for Toothless," Fishlegs said excitedly.

Toothless frowned. "That makes it sound like I'm dying or something."

"The twins? Apologizing for something? This I have to see," Hiccup said doubtfully.

Fishlegs shrugged. "Astrid bullied them into it I think."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"I heard them plan to make it in their loft, after dinner. Their parents will be at the meeting tonight."

Toothless slumped forward, chin falling into his hands. "Sounds great. A night with Horrible One and Horrible Two," he moaned dejectedly.

"And Snotlout, who probably doesn't know anything yet – where is he anyway? – and Astrid, and me!" Fishlegs added with enthusiasm.

"Sounds fun," Hiccup said with a slightly strained smile.

The rest of the afternoon passed too quickly for all of them. Time had seemingly sped up, bringing with it an end to Toothless's unique experience with his best friend and his companions. Toothless sorely missed flying and everything about being a dragon, but knowing he would most likely never again be able to have a proper verbalized conversation with Hiccup made him extremely sad. He knew their bond was now as solidified as possible, and that all forms of communication would be easier than ever before, but he would nonetheless miss the ease of just… talking to Hiccup.

With much trepidation and anxiety Hiccup and Toothless proceeded to the twins' party. Astrid and Fishlegs accompanied them there, having eaten with them at dinner. They assumed Snotlout was either already there (or, maybe if Hiccup was lucky, the boy didn't know about the get together. Snotlout tended to be even more obnoxious than the twins, especially about such intimate matters, and Hiccup was not looking forward to being barraged by questions for a third time).

Toothless and Astrid both seemed to sense his anxiety.

"Don't worry Hiccup," said Astrid, "I'll punch his face in if he's too nosy."

Hiccup gave her a strained frown. "I'm sure it'll be okay." It was such a lie.

With the storm still raging the group made it to the house fairly quickly, though it was on the opposite end of the village from the Dining Hall. Without knocking the three entered and made their way up to the loft. There was a large fire pit in the middle of the loft, and torches burning softly in each of the four corners. Piles of hay were had been assembled to sit on, and there was an assortment of food and drinks (Hiccup suspected mead) sat on a table. Fishlegs said "Oooh!" and straight away made for the food (even though they had just all eaten dinner).

When they arrived it was immediately clear that the twins had just finished sharing with Snotlout what they knew about Hiccup and Toothless. Snotlout looked extremely uncomfortable, his eyes wide and lips pulled inwards in a grimace. Hiccup sighed and rolled his eyes. Toothless put both arms around him in a protective embrace and Astrid punched her fist.

The twins both rose and waved their arms, signalling for peace. "Hey, hey wait! We just told him to mitigate further awkwardness!" Tuffnut shouted.

Ruffnut nodded aggressively. "Yeah, it would've been fricken obvious if we all knew and he didn't!"

Hiccup narrowed his eyes and his mouth opened in disbelief. "What?! What kind of logic is that? We could have just, you know, not acted like we were keeping a secret and tried to have a normal get together! It's not as if Snotlout's the observant type anyways!"

Snotlout looked affronted. "Hey! I am so observant!"

All five of them simultaneously rolled their eyes.

"It would have been way worse if he'd have found out later from someone else though, right?" Ruffnut argued.

Astrid shrugged in contemplation. "Maybe she has a point there."

Hiccup sighed explosively and pinched the bridge of his nose. He then shook his hands as if clearing smoke out of the air, then took a seat. "I don't even care anymore. I don't care if every single Viking in the entire world knows."

Toothless grinned and sat down beside Hiccup, liking his sudden shift from angry to care-free. He had been feeling a bit doubtful and hurt from the way Hiccup wanted to keep what they'd done a secret (though he now understood a bit more what privacy meant), but his announcement confirmed that Hiccup hadn't regretted what they'd done and no longer cared who knew about it.

Astrid retracted her fist, but shot Snotlout and the twins a death glare before taking a seat next to Toothless. After a few more minutes the tension in the atmosphere dissipated, allowing only slightly strained conversation.

Ruffnut even seemed to appear slightly guilt-ridden for her earlier behaviour in the Dining Hall. "Hiccup, really, I'm sorry we were so obnoxious."

Hiccup's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "That sounds weird, coming from you."

Tuffnut pursed his lips. "Jerk."

"What happened with your Dad?" asked Ruffnut in what seemed like genuine curiousity.

"Seriously, how do I miss these things?" Snotlout muttered to himself. (He had been working out in his basement when the others had been in the Great Hall).

Hiccup shrugged, a small smile on his face. "It's amazing, but he… didn't really say anything. I guess he trusts me more now, with what I choose to do. It was still really awkward though."

Fishlegs sported a dreamy sort of smile. "You guys, they were both so amazing. I think Stoick only left in comfort because you both publicly confessed your love for each other!"

Toothless and Hiccup's faces flushed red, Astrid wore a half smile-half grimace, and the others pretended to gag.

"Th-thanks, Fishlegs…" muttered Hiccup, looking into his drink.

Toothless poked Hiccup with his mug, the liquid in it sloshing over the rim. "What is this stuff anyways?"

Hiccup peered into the mug. "Well it's not water, so it must be mead." He turned to the twins, who wore identical smirks. "How'd you guys get mead anyways?"

"Duh, our parents make it now," Tuffnut drawled.

Ruffnut smirked and nodded. "Yeah it's pretty awesome."

Astrid took a sip and nodded in appreciation. "It's pretty decent," she said in approval.

"What is mead?" asked Toothless, slightly frustrated because just saying "mead" revealed absolutely nothing about the drink itself.

"It's the type of drink you'd have to calm down, and relieve stress, and-"

"It gets a party going!" Snotlout shouted enthusiastically, cutting Astrid off. He raised his mug and then downed half of it in one go, smacking his lips in appreciation. "Ah that's good stuff!"

"Cheers!" The twins cried in unison.

"Are you drinking it then?" Toothless asked Hiccup.

Hiccup peered into his mug with uncertainty. He shrugged. "I've never really tried it before. I mean I've had a sip or two, but not in large quantities…"

"Aw come on, we need to celebrate Toothless and all his magical shape-shifting glory!" Snotlout said, taking another sip of his mead.

Ruffnut sniffed in mock sadness. "I'm going to miss having another attractive guy around…"

Hiccup seemed to think on his decision for a moment, then shrugged. "Eh, why not. Can't hurt to have a bit."

Toothless nodded in agreement. If Hiccup was going to try some, then he would too. After all it would be his first and last time ever to try the drink in a human body. In unison the two of them drank from their mugs. Toothless immediately loved the warmth radiating in his throat and stomach.

"Mmmm, warm," he said, patting his chest.

Hiccup blinked away the tears that formed in his eyes and spluttered a cough in his hand. "Y-yeah, geez! That's strong!"

Tuffnut and Ruffnut burst out in laughter. "That's the mild batch you wimp!"

The atmosphere in the room lightened considerably after everyone's first mug of mead had been consumed. Fishlegs had tried some for the first time and, surprisingly, had had the most out of anyone. He was loudly speaking to anyone who wanted to listen, which meant only Toothless, about his idea of the best dragon species ever.

"It would be SO awesome!" Fishlegs yelled, his arms flailing around in the air. "Like, right, it would have super speed, and super strength, and an infinite supply of teeth, and retractable claws and-"

Toothless shook his head, smiling and chuckling at the ridiculous description. "Okay, well, if I ever meet a dragon like that you'll be the first to know. After Hiccup of course."

"Someone say my naaaame?" Hiccup drawled lightly, leaning into the conversation. His cheeks were now permanently red and his eyes were bright. He leaned in close to Toothless, an inch separating their faces. He gasped loudly. "Wow, Toothless, your eyes are soooo green!"

Toothless growled playfully and cupped both of Hiccup's cheeks in his hands. He pressed their noses together and peered back into Hiccup's eyes. "And yours are also soo greeeeeen," he said back.

"Oh my God you guys, like, get a room!" Tuffnut shouted from across the fire.

Snotlout pretended to retch on Ruffnut and Tuffnut smacked him upside the head. "Dude, no barfing at my party!"

"KISS, KISS, KISS!" Ruffnut cheered, raising her mug. Astrid appeared uncomfortable, but Ruffnut nudged her in the shoulder, almost pushing her over. "Oh don't even pretend you don't want to see that, Astrid!" Astrid rolled her eyes, but didn't argue with the statement.

Hiccup opened his mouth to give some kind of embarrassed opposition, but Toothless just smirked and took his chance, kissing him full on the mouth in front of the other Vikings, much like their first kiss six days before. Except this time the intentions behind the kiss were largely different, and Hiccup didn't fling backwards in shock. He sighed through his nose, making Toothless's bangs fly upwards, and simply not caring anymore about who saw, returned the kiss and threaded his fingers through the other boy's hair. Feeling brave from the mead he pushed Toothless down to the floor and crawled on top of him. He heard someone whistle and cheer in the background, and in contrast someone groan in disgust. After a minute he broke the kiss and was met with a bright smile and wide green eyes. Hiccup knew he looked much the same. He brushed Toothless's black bangs to press a finishing kiss to his forehead, then sat back on the floor beside him.

Ruffnut was clapping in appreciation, Astrid's cheeks were red and Snotlout had a hand over his eyes.

"Is it over yet?" Snotlout asked in desperation. Without opening his eyes he downed another gulp of mead.

"That was so cute!" Fishlegs said happily. Hiccup smiled sheepishly at him.

Toothless sat up and nuzzled his face into Hiccup's neck, inhaling deeply. He didn't care that there were other people in the room – all he cared about right at that moment was being alone with Hiccup for their few remaining hours as his physical equal. The drink, mead they called it, seemed to be affecting him, taking away the little control he'd started the night out with.

"T-Toothless, what are you doing – aaaah, stop!" Hiccup said, laughing breathlessly, the sensation at his neck tickling him. Toothless growled in response and sunk his teeth into the flesh beneath his mouth. Instantly Hiccup took the hint. And just as instantly he was uncomfortably aroused.

He cleared his throat and pulled Toothless up from the floor. "Well, it's getting late and uh, we should go, so thanks for the party and the mead, it was great!"

And surprisingly the others had enough sense and/or maturity not to object to their premature departure, appreciating the importance of the couple's diminishing time alone.

Ruffnut clambered up and stepped over to them. "You owe me a kiss, Toothless! Then you can go!"

Toothless frowned at her in confusion. "Why the hell do I owe you a kiss?"

Hiccup chuckled, feeling giddy. "Oh just give it to her, you'll never have to do it ever again."

Toothless sighed and pouted. Ruffnut bounced on her heels in anticipation. "Fine," Toothless muttered. He grabbed the girl's shoulders, yanked her forward and pressed a hard kiss on her lips. After a second he broke away, glaring at her.

"Woah, thanks! I just meant on the cheek, but that works too!" Ruffnut said happily, blushing despite herself. "I got a kiss from a dragon! A dragon!" She danced around the fire back to her brother, who looked genuinely freaked out and shoved her away.

"Astrid, come here, you too," Toothless said, waving her over with his hands.

She blushed and stubbornly crossed her arms. "Why would I want a kiss from you?"

Toothless narrowed his eyes at her. "Why wouldn't you? Like Ruffnut said it's a kiss from a dragon. Only chance ever."

Ruffnut nudged her forward. "Dooooo it, it's so worth it!"

Before Astrid could protest again, Toothless curled one hand around her head and the other around her waist, pulling her into his chest. Their lips met for a few seconds and then Toothless pulled back, smirking down at the shocked blonde.

Ruffnut slumped and pouted. "What gives man? That was so much better than mine!"

Hiccup chuckled at the shocked expression Astrid's face. He tugged at Toothless's hand, eager to get back to his room.

"Okay, anyone else while I'm still here? Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut?"

"Oh God, NO!" Snotlout shouted, covering his face. Tuffnut had a similar reaction, hiding behind his sister. Fishlegs just shook his head, but thanked him for the offer. The other two boys gaped at him in disbelief.

Hiccup saluted them and then practically pulled a smirking Toothless down the stairs to the ground floor. "Nice meeting you all officially!" Toothless cried up before exiting the house.

Hiccup barely had time to close the door behind him before he was slammed against the wooden wall, hungry lips biting at his mouth. He groaned and wrapped his arms around Toothless, pressing their bodies flush together. Tonight was their last night together and damnit Hiccup was going to make it count. But first…

"T-Toothless, let's get back to my house okay? Out of the storm?" Hiccup gasped, turning his head away from the kiss. Snow whipped around them, biting at their cheeks and chilling their skin.

Toothless growled impatiently in response. "Darn you and your practicality."

Hiccup hoped his Father would still be at the meeting, allowing him and Toothless a more private setting to enjoy their last night together.

No light escaped from the building attached to Hiccup's workshop, nor did any smoke rise from the smoke-stack, a good sign that no one was within earshot. The two boys stumbled into the small building, shivering and wet from the snow storm. Hiccup's first priority was starting a fire both for warmth and illumination. It took him about five minutes to build a sufficient flame, in which time Toothless had shed his clothing. Hiccup turned around to find him on his bed, stark naked and staring in anticipation.

Hiccup felt his heart skip a bit and he froze for a second, still in disbelief at the intense surrealism that loaded the moment. In a few hours this person lying on his bed would technically not exist. The personality would be re-transferred back to a completely different body, but the emotions attached to the human body, what Hiccup felt for it, would vanish, only a mental residue left behind in the form of memories. It was completely abstract to contemplate and made Hiccup's heart ache. That Hiccup had had this chance to experience Toothless intimately had been both a precious blessing and an achingly sad curse.

Before the sun rose and this dream ended, Hiccup would show Toothless how much he meant to him. Try to communicate physically how he had saved his life, how he'd resurrected his self-esteem and given him a purpose, not just for himself but in the Viking community.

Finally feeling warm enough, Hiccup shed his clothing and crawled on top of his friend, embracing him.

"I'm going to miss this," Toothless mumbled, face pressed into Hiccup's hair. He wrapped his arms around Hiccup, giving the boy some warmth.

Hiccup sighed and squeezed the other boy harder. "Yeah, me too."

"But I also really miss flying with you."

Hiccup raised his head and smiled down at Toothless. The sadness in his aching heart lifted slightly and he chuckled. "It's going to be amazing," he whispered, lowering his lips.

"It always is." Toothless met Hiccup's lips, kissing him softly. Their kiss was long, soft and innocent. After a moment, Toothless pulled back. "I don't want to sleep tonight. I… I don't want to waste any more time with you like this before I change back."

"How will we stay awake?" Hiccup asked, tone slightly teasing to dilute the heavy sadness in the air.

Toothless smirked and rolled them over so that he was on top. "There can't be that many hours left anyways," he mumbled. "I'm sure we'll find a way." He pressed lazy open-mouthed kisses down Hiccup's neck.

Hiccup sighed quietly, the sound muffled by the raging storm hammering at the walls, his eyelids falling closed, enjoying the sensation of warm lips on his neck. The lips moved slowly up his jaw, across his check to land on his mouth and he willingly opened in his lips to accept a warm tongue. He moaned quietly around the muscle, drawing it into his mouth deeper. Toothless responded by threading his fingers through Hiccup's messy hair, sending tingles down Hiccup's spine.

Eventually Hiccup's eyes were falling down, tugged by sleep. He struggled to keep awake, not wanting to lose any time with Toothless as his physical equal. It had been a few hours since they'd returned home. The storm had calmed, and a soft light began to creep in through the walls. Toothless lay on Hiccup's chest, the brunette's arm around his shoulders. Hiccup tried not to dwell on how well they fit together; it was as if his chest was made for Toothless's head. Everything was quiet, save for their synchronized breathing. Hiccup felt the warm body against him shift slightly, heard its owner sigh deeply. He knew that sigh. It meant that, finally, the inevitable was going to happen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (I was really hoping to see more night-furies in HTTYD2, to maybe see some offspring, but alas, twas not meant to be T_T Poor Toothless might be all alone!)
> 
> Final chapter ;_;

"Where do you want to be?" Hiccup murmured. "When you change back?" He threaded his fingers through Toothless's soft hair, stroking his scalp. Toothless sighed again. The hand on Hiccup's chest clenched slightly, rubbing against the exposed skin.

"I guess outside would be best," Toothless answered quietly. Neither of them were sure how the transformation would set in; they assumed there would be another flash of bright green light, and then just as dragon had become boy, boy would become dragon.

Hiccup nodded. He made to move, to dress and get ready, but the warm weight against him prevented it.

"Not yet… just a few more minutes," Toothless sighed.

A few minutes passed. More light trickled in. Hiccup moved again, suddenly feeling a spike the body heat emanating from the boy on his chest. "Toothless…" he nudged the other boy. "I really think…"

Toothless remained silent as he got up and dressed. The atmosphere was sort of heavy, almost dimmed. Both tried to remind themselves that no one was dying, or leaving. They'd had an amazing week that would forever remain in their memories, but now it was time that their relationship returned to what it was.

Both boys emerged from the warm cabin into the chilly morning air. There was no time to walk to their cove, so instead they found a spot to sit by the cliff. By the time they settled, the sun had fully risen to start the day, and consequently, the transformation.

"Thanks Hiccup," said Toothless. He gave Hiccup one last fierce hug and stole one last kiss.

Hiccup shielded his eyes from the blinding flash of green light with his arm, turning away from Toothless. He darted away, leaving enough space for the transformation. Through his closed eyes he saw that the light had faded. He opened his eyes and grinned. Bright green eyes, twice the size of a human's, stared back into his, and his heart leapt at the sight of his best friend.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried out joyfully. He embraced the dragon's snout, laughing.

Toothless responded by licking Hiccup's face, just like he used to. Hiccup laughed again, but couldn't stop the blush that sprouted on his cheeks.

"Have you always been this affectionate? Did I just not notice before?" Hiccup teased playfully.

Toothless moved around him a bit restlessly, hopping from foot to foot. He huffed and gestured with his head towards the sky.

Hiccup smiled, taking a hint. "Sure thing, buddy!" With a glance he noticed that, somehow, the saddle and other flying equipment were still on Toothless. He decided he would wonder about that later… Right now he just wanted to get up in the air again. Flying was one of the best feelings in the world, and Hiccup had sorely missed it during the last week. He couldn't even imagine how much Toothless had longed for it.

Hiccup patted his friend's snout. "Hey buddy," he said, his tone more serious. Green eyes met green, Hiccup searching for recognition. "Do you remember everything?" There was a deeper expression in the dragon's eyes, deeper than anything Hiccup had ever seen. The large reptilian eyes seemed more human now.

Toothless nodded against Hiccup's hand. He nuzzled the warm skin.

"And...we're good?" Hiccup asked tentatively, leaving the question hanging.

Toothless rolled his eyes and huffed again, now impatient. He hopped up and down restlessly, eager to take off into the sky.

Hiccup laughed again, tone once again at ease. With no further hesitation he locked himself in place on Toothless's back. Toothless shot into the sky, soaring into the brisk Northern air. His body became light with happiness as he flexed his wings, once again feeling the familiar weight of Hiccup on his back. He heard the sound of laughter from behind him, almost lost in the wind rushing past his ears.

Hiccup stretched his arms out into the air and cried out in joy. Flying was the most exhilarating experience he could imagine. He'd missed it terribly, and so had his dragon.

They flew for hours, until Hiccup was freezing and sore and was practically begging Toothless to land somewhere, anywhere, on the promise that they would soon be flying again.

The Viking hopped off the night fury, legs slightly shaky. That had been one of the longest sustained flights yet. Rolling his neck to work out the kinks, he looked around, the surroundings vaguely familiar.

"Where'd you take us, buddy?"

Toothless had landed them on a small volcanic island. There were many niches and caves pocketing the short cliffs, housing seabirds and, now Hiccup recalled, other dragons.

"This is where we found the female the other day, isn't it?" Hiccup asked, patting Toothless's scaly neck. Hiccup watched Toothless's excited green eyes searching the skies around the island. For a few hours they casually explored, at times running into other species of dragons. Around midday Hiccup fired up a few fish for his lunch. He'd long assumed they were not leaving the island before Toothless had encountered the female.

"I'm sure she'll show up," Hiccup said, patting a dejected Toothless. The dragon was sulking underneath an overhanging rock ledge. The sun was sitting lower in the sky now, signalling the approached sunset and end to their day. "Don't worry, I'll wait as long as it takes."

Toothless nuzzled Hiccup's hand and licked his face in a show of gratitude.

Just as the sun was setting, bathing the sky in orange, Hiccup spotted a dark shape in the sky, rapidly growing in size as it neared the island. They watched with baited breath, both hoping it was the female night fury. Hiccup cried out in happiness when he saw that the approaching dragon was the female. He punched Toothless in the shoulder, urging him to ascend. "Go get her, buddy!"

Toothless shot Hiccup a crooked smirk before exploding off into the air.

The night was the perfect setting for the night fury mating ritual. Clear, cool skies, and a waxing gibbous moon shining brightly overhead. Hiccup smiled up at his best friend and sat down on the volcanic rocks, not taking his eyes off the aerial dance.

Toothless seemed to be successful in wooing the female, as far as Hiccup could tell. For each movement the male did, the female copied. They weaved around each other, twirling and spinning and diving. They were never more than ten feet away from each other, but neither did they ever fully touch. It was a teasing display. Bright moonlight reflected off their scales, making them glitter. Hiccup was in awe, forgetting to blink. It was magnificent.

The courtship lasted for about ten minutes. Hiccup didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing, but went ahead and assumed the former. Out of practicality the female didn't appear to have many choices for mates. Hiccup knew Toothless would be a good mate. He felt his face heat up as he recalled just how good a mate his friend had been as a human.

When they had finished, the two dragons, newly coupled, landed on the rocks near Hiccup. He stayed seated, wanting to give them privacy and unsure what was to happen next. He knew though, whatever happened, that his involvement was definitely not necessary.

Hiccup watched the pair enter a dark cave. He blushed again and turned his gaze back out to the sea. Happiness for his friend at finding a partner helped keep him warm against the blustery cold Northern air. He wrapped his arms around his body and shivered slightly. He wondered if he had time to build a fire.

After about another twenty minutes, Toothless emerged from the cave. He gently brushed his snout against Hiccup's hair. Hiccup stretched and stood, smiling.

"Congrats, Toothless!" he said, wrapping his arms around the dragon's muzzle.

Toothless almost appeared shy, ducking his head and averting his eyes, and Hiccup had to laugh. "Really? You're shy now?"

Toothless huffed and pointed with his head to the sky. Hiccup took the hint and, with some relief, climbed back on to his dragon. It would be at least another few hours before they reached Berk.

"Thanks for letting me watch the dance," Hiccup said gratefully. Toothless happily growled back, returning the sentiment. "Is she going to stay here? She could just come to Berk."

Toothless was silent for a moment and then huffed in frustration. Hiccup seemed to know what he was thinking. "Yeah I miss you being able to talk to me too, buddy. Was a lot easier, eh?" Toothless nodded.

They finally made their way back to Berk in the dead of night, stealthily making their way back to Hiccup's home. Hiccup stumbled to his house and crashed into his bed. A dreary Toothless followed, collapsing with a sigh on the floor next to the bed. "G'night, bud," Hiccup mumbled into his pillow.

Hiccup's dreams were filled with dancing dragons that turned into humans with wings, twisting and moving around each other eternally. The moon watched on, jealous of their beauty, but failed to swallow the dancers before they changed back into dragons, the night skies painted with green in their wake.


End file.
